Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports invests $700m in two Egyptian ports

This brings the company’s total investment in the country to more than $1.5bn

Ain Sokhna port in Egypt. Hutchison will develop a new container terminal at the port. Photo: Suez Canal Economic Zone

Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports has invested $700 million in two Egyptian ports.

The company invested in the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna and in B100, a new container terminal at the Port of Alexandria.

This brings the company’s total investment in Egypt to more than $1.5 billion, Hutchison Ports said on Thursday.

The investment “reflects our commitment to Egypt and the wider African market”, said managing director Eric Ip.

“These investments will enable us to provide high-quality services to our customers and contribute to the growth and development of the local economy.”

The investment will include the development of a new container terminal in Ain Sokhna Port with a capacity of 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the company said.

Ain Sokhna, located at the southern point of the Suez Canal, has emerged as a key industrial and logistical centre.

Last year, the Abu Dhabi Ports Group, which operates ports, industrial cities and free zones in the emirate, signed a preliminary agreement with the Egyptian Group for Multipurpose Terminals, the commercial arm of the Egyptian Transport Ministry, to jointly oversee the development and operation of Ain Sokhna Port.

The two entities will work together closely to conduct a feasibility study into the future development of Ain Sokhna and explore potential investment opportunities to boost its capacity.

In 2021, Egypt signed a deal to construct a $7.5 billion petrochemical complex in Ain Sokhna.

Egypt, the Arab world's third-largest economy, is seeking solutions to address its shortage of foreign currency and to increase its natural gas exports.

The North African country increased natural gas exports to Europe to alleviate its energy crisis, as supplies from Russia were cut by more than 80 per cent last year and prices surged.

Hutchison Ports operates ports and terminals in 26 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia, according to its website.

In Africa and the Middle East, the company has operations in Egypt, Tanzania, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.