Egypt’s Seaports: Enhancing Connectivity and Trade

Updated 4/6/2024 9:00:00 AM

Egypt, strategically located at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe, boasts a network of vital maritime ports that play a pivotal role in global trade and connectivity. To capitalize on this, the Egyptian government has set a plan to expand and modernize the ports’ infrastructure to turn the country into a regional and international trade hub.

In this Factsheet, we explore the significance of these ports, Egypt’s global position in terms of ports’ connectivity, and the government plan for Egypt to become a trade hub.

According to the UNCTAD’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI), a proxy for accessibility to global trade through the shipping network, Egypt’s global ranking fell from 22^ndin the fourth quarter (Q4) 2023 to 24^th in Q1 2024. This was mainly due to the Red Sea tensions that slashed the Suez Canal navigation by 50% year on year (YoY) during January-February 2024.
At the regional level, Egypt fell from first place in Q4 2023 to second in Q1 2024 following Morocco.
As for DHL Global Connectedness Report 2024, Egypt ranked 103rd globally and 14th in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In the trade pillar, Egypt ranked 95th among 181 countries.
The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023 showed that Egypt’s score reached 3.1, ranking 57th. In the quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure sub-index, Egypt secured the 55th spot out of 139 countries.
Egypt has 18 commercial ports along the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, three of which are affiliated with the Armed Forces, nine are affiliated with the Ministry of Transports, and six are affiliated with the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
The 15 non-military ports have 205 berths spanning 38.175 kilometers. The Egyptian ports have a maximum capacity of 184.2 million tons of cargos, accommodating 12.4 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers and offering 6.7 million square meters of storage area.
In 2023, $1 billion worth of commodities were exported through seaports, making up 83% of Egypt’s total exports across all types of ports. This reflects a 22% decline compared to 2022.
Alexandria Port had the largest share in exports at 32% ($13.5 billion), followed by Suez Port with a share of 16% ($6.81 billion), and Damietta Port with 8% ($3.28 billion).
The Egyptian government has set a plan to enhance the country’s position in the global trade landscape, especially in transit trade. The plan includes promoting five seaports on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to be converted into international transit trade centers. In addition to boosting the container capacity of East and West Port Said, and Sokhna Ports by 2030.