DP World Sokhna recently entered into a trilateral partnership with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), and the China Ocean Shipping Company Ltd (COSCO), to serve as the hub for all construction material imports needed to build the central business and financial district of Egypt’s new administrative capital.
As part of the agreement, CSCEC, the largest construction conglomerate in China and the company in charge of developing the central business and financial district in the new capital, will benefit from Sokhna’s proximity to the new capital and its advanced road and rail links, in addition the Port’s strategic location just below the southern entrance to the Suez Canal, on the Red Sea, a key gateway for Asia, Europe and other international markets.
DP World Sokhna already has a dedicated facility for catering existing and future business of CSCEC. Upcoming Basin 2 facility will support the business of CSCEC.
Located approximately 50km east of the current capital Cairo, Egypt’s new administrative capital will cover an area of 700km2 and will be capable of accommodating 6.5 million people, when completed.
Suhail Al Banna, CEO and Managing Director of DP World Middle East and Africa said: “Our strategic partnership with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and China Ocean Shipping Company provides the opportunity for DP World Sokhna to expand its role in supporting Egypt’s economy by serving as the exclusive port for all of the central business district’s cargo, and ultimately, companies who will be setting up their operations in the new capital.”
Al Banna added: “As a major gateway for Egypt’s trade, we look forward to utilizing DP World robust capabilities to handle cargo transiting through the important East-West trade route.”
As a driver for economic growth, job creation and urban transformation, the new capital is a $45 billion mega-project and one of the key development projects that are being rolled out by the Egyptian government. Moreover, the government plans to relocate ministries, parliament and civic institutions to the new capital.
The signing ceremony was held at CSCEC premises in New Capital near Cairo, and attended by Ajay Singh, CEO of DP World Sokhna, Alia Gammal, Commercial Manager of DP World Sokhna, Chang Weicai, General Manager of CSEC Egypt, Tiang Dong, Vice President of COSCO Shipping Europe GMBH, Lin Ji, Chairman of the Management Board and Fan Jue, Managing Director of COSCO Egypt.
DP World Sokhna recently marked its 10th year anniversary by announcing a major expansion through Basin 2, a move which brought DP World’s total investment in Egypt to $1.6 billion.
When completed in the second quarter of 2020, Basin 2 will nearly double capacity at the port to 1.75 million TEUs per year.