DP World expands into Egypt
Global marine terminal operator DP World today announced it has acquired a 90 per cent stake in ECHCO, the controlling shareholder of Sokhna Port Development Company (SPDC), entering the Egyptian market for the first time.
Highlights:
• DP World acquires 90 per cent stake in Egyptian Container Handling Co (ECHCO) for US$670 million
• Adds Egypt to DP World’s global network
Sokhna is the closest container port to Cairo and is expected to have a capacity of 1.2 million TEU by the end of 2009. The port is located within the 90 square kilometre North West Suez Economic Zone, the first of its kind in Egypt.
DP World has invested US$670 million to acquire the controlling interest. The remaining 10 per cent remains with Amiral Holdings Ltd.
Captain Ossama Al-Sharif will remain as Chairman of the port and an active partner in the enterprise through Amiral Holdings Ltd.
DP World Chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said, ‘Egypt is the largest economy in North Africa and rapidly becoming a major force in the region, with foreign direct investment growth of 65% per annum since 2000. Sokhna will continue to play a significant role in supporting this growth, serving as a gateway for the growing Egyptian industrial base and consumer demand. The port serves Cairo with a population of more than 17 million and is also situated directly on the main East-West arterial trade route at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal. We therefore believe Sokhna has considerable potential.’
DP World Executive Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Port & Free Zone World (P&FZ World), Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah said, ‘Sokhna is well located within an expanding free zone, which has attracted international interest, with over US$2 billion invested since it commenced operations in 2003. The port is directly connected to Cairo via a 6-lane highway and has direct rail links to the rest of Egypt. Together with its location at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal, these factors combine to make Sokhna the premier gateway for the Egypt-Asia trade, which has grown approximately 20 per cent a year over the past five years. We believe the port and free zone have an exciting future and we look forward to contributing to that future, bringing our expertise from across the group to operations at Sokhna.’
DP World CEO Mohammed Sharaf said, ‘Sokhna is a vital port for East – West trade and is a valuable addition to DP World’s other Red Sea ports, Jeddah and Djibouti. The port’s container volumes are all currently import and export, and with a berth depth of 17 metres alongside and two additional super post-panamax cranes arriving in early 2008, the port has significant potential to expand its services. In addition to the container activities, importantly the port has a number of long term contracts to handle significant bulk and liquid volumes for customers located adjacent to the port in the surrounding economic zone.
‘Sokhna will further enhance DP World’s ability to serve customers moving containerised and non-containerised cargo on the Egypt-Asia shipping routes and through the Suez Canal to Europe and the US East Coast.’
