Al Mal-


Fitch Solutions recently released a comprehensive report on the future of Egypt’s transport sector through 2028, providing insights into expected developments across various modes of transport, including maritime, land, rail and air, with a focus on the factors influencing each sector’s performance.
The Logistics and Land Transport report highlights structural trends in the near, medium and long term.
Egypt boasts a number of high-quality ports and cargo terminals that complement its strategic location, with the Suez Canal playing a key role in global maritime flows. However, domestic economic challenges are holding back demand and production, while disruptions in the Red Sea have made serving eastern Mediterranean ports more difficult, negatively impacting port cargo turnover in the short term.
However, the outlook shows that investments in Egypt’s major ports, currency depreciation and the signing of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund will boost port cargo turnover in the coming years.
Fitch expects East Port Said to handle 40.5 million tonnes by the end of the year, up 6.3% year-on-year, with container turnover at 3.5 million TEUs.

Damietta is expected to handle 45 million tonnes in 2024, up 2.3% year-on-year, with a turnover of 1.6 million TEUs.

The report also sees increased investment in improving transport infrastructure and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as a positive short-term outlook. However, regional instability, including the Israeli-Palestinian war and Western retaliatory strikes against the Houthis, has led to rerouting of shipping routes, exacerbating Egypt’s economic challenges, which also include the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and broader border unrest with Libya, Sudan, and Gaza. These factors pose risks to cargo turnover at Egypt’s ports.
Fitch expects significant investments in container terminal infrastructure at all major Egyptian ports on the Mediterranean, benefiting Egypt’s position as a transshipment and trade hub.
The report forecasts steady growth in Egyptian seaborne cargo tonnage over our medium-term forecast period of 2024-28, averaging 4.7% year-on-year in nominal terms. This is supported by investment in the hydrocarbon sector, new industrial zones, and enhanced transshipment and export capabilities.
Damietta Port outperforms East Port Said Port in terms of expected cargo volumes by 2028, with Damietta’s cargo volume expected to reach 49 million tonnes compared to 45 million tonnes at Port Said. However, East Port Said is growing at a faster rate of 3.4% compared to Damietta’s 4%, on an annual basis over the period 2024-28.
Fitch sees East Port Said’s container turnover at 4 million TEU by the end of the period, while Damietta’s is around 1.8 million TEU by 2028. However, the pace of infrastructure development and foreign investor engagement in the port sector and the broader economy present significant upside risks to our forecast.
The Egyptian government has identified port development as a key area for foreign direct investment, with total capacity expected to rise from just under 10 million TEU in 2022 to nearly 19 million TEU by the end of 2024.
Over the decade, Fitch expects strong investments in Egypt’s container port infrastructure to increase container handling capacity at Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as the government aims to improve Egypt’s position as a transshipment hub. Continued investment in long-term projects from foreign governments and other entities is good news for the country’s shipping industry. In particular, the Suez Canal continues to be a focal point for infrastructure investment. New investments in port infrastructure improvements are expected to accelerate, along with improved internal links and the development of special economic zones to expand trade and grow transshipment. Improved domestic demand, agricultural products and infrastructure-related materials will also drive increased levels of cargo and bulk cargo over the decade to 2033, he said. Egypt is also taking an active stance to become a major exporter of green hydrogen, with significant foreign investment boosting its role in the global energy transition. The country has signed a $6.75 billion deal with China’s Energy China to build a green hydrogen and ammonia plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, with the aim of exporting to European markets. Additionally, the government has signed a $3.1 billion deal with Belgium’s DEME Group to build a green hydrogen plant near the port of Girgab in 2023, which is set to be a strategic export hub to the European market once completed. To support these projects, Egypt is expanding its ports and shipping infrastructure, including developing the port of Girgab and the surrounding economic zone, with investments aimed at facilitating green hydrogen and ammonia exports. The government is offering incentives to the sector of up to 55% tax exemptions and is considering additional plans to support investment. In terms of the number of container ships visiting Egyptian ports, Egypt currently lags behind other Mediterranean markets with major transshipment ports, such as Spain, Italy, Morocco and France. Investment is likely to focus on expanding existing Mediterranean container port infrastructure at Dekheila, Abu Qir and Port Said – the main transshipment port.
Shipping in Egypt.

It is also expected that the container handling infrastructure in the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea will be further developed, diversifying Egypt’s container transshipment capacity and reducing pressure on Mediterranean facilities, and Egypt will benefit from the UAE port operators’ plans to expand in the region.

The Egyptian Ministry of Transport announced in January 2023 the completion of projects in the river transport sector at a cost of EGP 1.13 billion between 2014 and 2022. These included the development of the Cairo-Alexandria navigational road, the Cairo-Aswan navigational road, the Cairo-Damietta navigational road, and the Cairo-Ismailia navigational road, in addition to the supporting infrastructure, including docks, bridges, and transport database management systems.

The Cairo-Alexandria road has also seen improvements, as well as the river quay at Wadi Halfa Port in Sudan. The establishment of the Nile River Information Infrastructure System is an important part of these developments, especially since river transport facilitates communication with other African countries, especially landlocked countries located in the Nile Basin.
The Egyptian Ministry of Transport has allocated around EGP 4 billion for new river transport projects as part of the government’s efforts to ease road congestion, reduce transport costs and reduce air pollution. Fitch expects significant investments in container terminal infrastructure at all major Egyptian ports on the Mediterranean, benefiting Egypt’s position as a transshipment and trade hub. CMA CGM operates a new 1.5 million TEU terminal in Alexandria (the Tahya Misr Multipurpose Marine Terminal opened in June 2023). CMA CGM intends to expand its operations to include logistics areas and additional terminals at other ports besides Alexandria.