Maritime

Egypt is strategically located at the hub of the world’s sea lanes. The 45 ports are critical to serve the needs of shippers between Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the Middle East and the Americas and the world’s oil and gas suppliers.

Egypt has 2450km of coastline on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea which has connected Egypt to the rest of the world since ancient times. The vital artery – the Suez Canal – passes through its land linking the East to the West.

International merchant fleet capacity increased to 856,974 tons (dead weight) at the beginning of 2004.

World Seaborne trade increased strongly in 2003 to 6.17 billion tons, growing at an annual rate of 3.7 per cent and exceeding 6.6 billion tons in 2004.

International container fleet capacity has increased from 6 million TEUs in 2003 to 6.4 million TEUs in 2004.

New ports have been built to handle the new container ships and are already being expanded to meet the high volume of trade. Old ports are being modernized. Specialized ports have been upgraded. The Suez Canal has been dredged to take larger vessels.

Loading and unloading times have been reduced by 10 per cent and customs procedures have been streamlined to facilitate fast cargo handling. Costs are being monitored rigorously to ensure Egypt’s viability as the region’s major sea transit centre and the main gateway port into the Middle East and North Africa marketplace.