Commercial operations commenced at Damietta Alliance Container Terminals (DACT) in Egypt, with the first 13,117 teu Hapag-Lloyd vessel Essen Express to call at the new Egyptian facility on Saturday, February 14.
DACT has been designed primarily for transshipment operations and is planned to have a total capacity of 3.3 million teu after the final construction phase.
The expected cargo mix is approximately 80 percent transshipment and 20 percent import and export, serving both the Egyptian market, including Damietta and Greater Cairo, and regional markets such as the Levant and the Black Sea.
The facility covers an area of approximately 93 hectares and features a quay length of 1,670 meters with a water depth of 18 meters.
The terminal is equipped with 12 fully electric ship-to-shore cranes with a 25-row outreach and 40 hybrid rubber-tyred gantry cranes.
Additional equipment includes spreaders, lashing cages, out-of-gauge frames and rail infrastructure with six train lanes, of which two are operational at launch.
Damietta Alliance Container Terminals S.A.E. is a joint venture established to develop and operate the DACT terminal.
Shareholders are Hapag-Lloyd Damietta GmbH (39%) (represented by Hanseatic Global Terminals), EUROGATE GmbH (29.956%) and Contship Italia S.p.A (29.956%), together with Ship & C.R.E.W. Egypt S.A.E. (1.00%) and Middle East Logistics & Consultants Group (0.07%).
“The successful start of operations at our new terminal in the Port of Damietta marks a significant milestone for our terminal portfolio,” Dheeraj Bhatia, chief executive officer of Hanseatic Global Terminals and executive board member of Hapag-Lloyd said.
“We are pleased to see the Damietta terminal enter commercial operations. It represents an important addition to our global network,” noted Juan Pablo Richards, senior managing director region South Europe at Hapag-Lloyd, adding that the new hub strengthens the company’s position in the East Mediterranean.
