A total of $60 million has been invested in several major upgrade projects at Suez Canal Container Terminal, a key hub terminal in the South and East Mediterranean region.

A series of investments were initiated in 2020 to upgrade equipment and capacity at the terminal, in cooperation with the Government of Egypt and Suez Canal Economic Zone (SC Zone).

The works set the foundation for future growth of the terminal despite global pandemic challenges, according to APM Terminals.

Specifically, the most complex of the upgrades was the heightening of six ship-to-shore (STS) cranes in SCCT’s own yard. Following this recently completed project, 12 out of 18 of the terminal’s STS cranes now have the capacity to handle ultra large container vessels (ULCVS). This also makes SCCT the only terminal in Egypt to be able to simultaneously serve two mega vessels, without compromising on productivity.

“Our upgrade programme was already very ambitious, but the global pandemic made it even more complex. However, it was also an opportunity for the SCCT team to rise up to the challenge. Thanks to their tremendous efforts, we are happy to report that all projects have been concluded on schedule,” Sunay Mukerjee, Chief Commercial Officer at Suez Canal Container Terminal, commented.

The terminal has also implemented a gate expansion, with civil engineering works set to increase SCCT’s gate handling capacity to more than 50,000 TEU per month. Consequently, the terminal’s gate volumes have increased 50% year-on-year, with growth in reefer exports reaching 150%.

Other investments at SCCT also included the purchase of new yard equipment, with 16 new rubber tyre gantry cranes joining the fleet, paving the way for more quay and gate volumes in the future.

New record

Capacity upgrades and other investments have already resulted in a new record, with SCCT handling 57,242 moves / 95,579 TEUs on the quay in week 33 – the highest weekly volume ever handled at the terminal.

The increased volume was handled while maintaining the same gate moves per hour (GMPH) of 30.04.

SCCT opened in 2004 on a 49-year concession. It is a joint venture with APM Terminals as the majority shareholder (55%) and operator.

Other key shareholders include COSCO (20%), the Suez Canal Authority (10.3%) and the National Bank of Egypt (5%).