Egypt is a transcontinental country with a middle-income status and one of the most diverse economies in the Mediterranean area and the Arab world. It has recorded great economic growth since the initiation of 2016 financial reforms and the regular expansion of the Egyptian IT sector. The country engages in global trade mainly through its Egyptian port facilities, the busiest working near the Suez Canal. About 15 ports are located with the Mediterranean and the Red Sea coasts, exporting clothing, cotton textiles, petrochemical goods, rice, cement, steel, fruits, and goods to China, the US, Germany, Italy, and Gulf nations. 

Let us review the seven important Egyptian ports and their distinguishing characteristics.

Port of Alexandria 

Alexandria port dates back to 1900 BC. Thus, it is one of the oldest operational Egypt ports in the world. The principal Egypt ports, it handles around three-fourths of the country’s maritime trade and generates around 60 percent of trade revenue. Lying on the north side of the Egyptian coast, between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mariout, it handles a diverse industrial, business, and agricultural economy. 

The El-Dekheila Port is a part of the main port and is located near the iron and steel area and the Free Trade Zone. 

Port details

The port stretches 23 kilometres and has a 400 m-wide entrance channel leading to its six zones, which comprise 67 berthing facilities. 

The fourth zone holds a container terminal along with multipurpose berths for handling cement, barge discharge, fertilizers, onions, garlic, groundnuts, and rice. The fifth and sixth port zones handle molasses, grains, and flour.

Port of Damiett

The Port is close to the Nile River’s start, just 70 kilometres from Port Said. This is the second busiest port in Egypt and deals with agricultural products, fertilizers, furniture, cement, grain, general cargo, and containers. Around 3 300 vessels and 19,800,000 tonnes of cargo, including 1,300,000 TEUs, are managed annually at this facility. 

It has been operational since the time of pharaohs and was known as Tamiat.

Port Layout

Damietta port covers 9.6 square miles and has a 12-km-long and 300-meter wide access channel with a depth of 15 m. It also has two barge channels and a turning basin with a 500 m diameter. The port has 14 piers and a total quay length of 3.3 km, divided between six specialized terminals. 

Port Terminals

The Gas and Petrochemicals terminal caters to LPG, LNG, and methanol. Its annual handling ability is 6.5 million tonnes. The container terminal is on 60 hectares and incorporates half a dozen berths with a 15.5 m water depth. It has about 800,000m2 backyard and a capacity of 1.8 million TEUs per year. Four wharves comprise the general cargo terminal, a 1.9-hectare storage area. It was designed to manage 28 million tonnes of cargo. 

The Bulk terminal consists of four docks spanning 900 m and 250,000 m2 of storage space. It has 81 tanks capable of holding 2 million tonnes.

Port Said

Said port lies at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal across from the twin city of Port Fouad. It has an artificial harbour formed by two breakwaters with all-purpose facilities for handling all cargo and passengers. It also works as a large fishing sector and has a diverse industrial base in textile manufacturing, glass making, cosmetics, watches, automobile tires, and batteries. 

Given the port’s existence near the Suez Canal, it is one of the most crowded African and Mediterranean facilities. It is renowned as a significant exporter of Egyptian cotton and rice. The port also offers refuelling facilities for ships passing through the canal. Around 4,500 ships, 10,800,000 tonnes of cargo, 1,000,000 TEUs, and more than 2.5 million passengers are handled at the port annually. It is also a famous tourist spot with sandy beaches and holiday resorts.

Port Layout is one of Egypt Ports

The Port Said Port Authority controls and manages the Port Said West, El Arish Port, and Port Said East. All three subsidiary ports have state-of-the-art technologies and deep terminals to manage the latest sea-going vessels.

Suez Canal Container Terminal

It can handle 5.4 million TEUs per year and aims to become the preferred port to Egypt and the major trade hub in the Mediterranean by the end of 2025.

It is one of the most expansive container stacking yards. Also, a freight station with more than 3000 reefer connections are here in the west terminal area.

Port of Suez

Suez Port lies on the southern tip of the Suez Canal at the entrance of the Suez Gulf in the north of Egypt. It has two harbours, Port Ibrahim and Port Tawfiq, connected to Cairo, Port Said. Also, the hinterland has a big network of railways and roadways. It is also a resting area for Muslim pilgrims en route to Mecca and Medina. This is a crucial facility that handles around 2,500,000 TEUs and over 2000 vessels annually. It covers 158 square kilometres and has over 2.3 million m2 of warehouse capacity and 30,000 m2 of open yards.

The Petroleum Dock Port, a Suez port company, is some 3.3 kilometres south of downtown Port Suez. It has seven working berths with depths of 9 m. These cement berths serve carriers and are up to 20,000 DWT. The facility also has an 11-meter-deep panel outside the big port, serving the petroleum and natural gas ships up to 40,000 DWT.

Port of Adabiya is One of Egypt’s Ports

The port expanded to build storage spaces, additional berths, and terminal buildings, increasing its capacity. Its general cargo berths can manage an additional 1.1 million tonnes per year. Due to its strategic location and increased productivity, Adabiya has improved its reach across the Middle Eastern and East African routes. 

Safaga Egypt Ports

This egypt port is built on the western coast of the Red Sea. It has a big bay with deep drafts that enable the accommodation of larger cargo vessels. The port spans 57 square kilometres and includes a 15,000 m2 warehouse space and 160,000 m2 open yards.

It has five operational quays: two for regular cargo and passenger vessels, two for rock and ground phosphate, and one for wheat. The grain berth spans 220 m and is able to store 100,000 tonnes in port silos.

Port of Al Sokhna

The Al Sokhna Port is located close to the Gulf of Suez near the Red Sea beaches. Due to its great location, the Egyptian regime allocated 9000 hectare site for the port’s financial and industrial development, laying the basis of the Suez Special Economic Zone. 

The port became operational in 2002 but has tremendous scope for growth. The port consists of 7 piers. This includes 2 RORO berths with inbuilt ramps, two container areas, two general cargo berths, and a multipurpose berth, with a final quay length of 2650 m.