Construction & Development Committee

Port Said construction challenges - November 2000

The Construction & Development Committee held a November 7 meeting at the Amcham premises. Co-Chair Mr. Taymour welcomed speakers Mr. Mamdouh Hamza, principal associate of Hamza Associates, and Mr. Philip Littlejohn, managing director of Suez Canal Container Terminal S.A.E.

The meeting highlighted the engineering and construction challenges that the Ain Al Sokhna and East Port Said Harbor BOOT projects pose. Mr. Hamza covered the Ain Al Sokhna project by giving a presentation on its development.

Mr. Littlejohn said that in order to establish a container terminal complex at the north end of the Suez Canal it would be necessary to operate transshipment hubs. This would be achieved by acquiring the most modern equipment and setting very efficient operating procedures.

The creation of hubs would increase volume at the terminal, port and the Canal Authority. There would also be the added advantage for Egyptian exporters and importers of gaining access to the fastest and most frequent shipping routes at lower cost.

The two major project bidders are Europe Combined Terminals (ECT) and A.P. Moller, which will work under the auspices of the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) which determines the tariffs, marketing and operation of the completed project. The SCCT focuses on eastern Mediterranean transshipment, Black Sea transshipment and intercontinental transshipment.

The Egyptian government will build a quay wall, bridges across the canal and dredge a new channel.

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