Egypt’s SCZONE signs deal with Sky Ports to build multi-purpose terminal at Sokhna

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding and an 18-month usufruct agreement with logistics operator Sky Ports to develop and operate a new multi-purpose terminal at Ain Sokhna Port.

Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir attended the signing ceremony.

According to SCZONE statement, the two parties will conduct technical studies for the construction, operation and maintenance of an integrated terminal, while the temporary usufruct licence allows Sky Ports to begin using the berth and land area immediately until final project agreements are completed.

The planned terminal includes a 588-metre berth, a 250,000-square-metre logistics yard, and 100,000 square metres of covered warehouses within the Sokhna industrial zone. It will be linked directly to a customs yard designed to speed up cargo clearance and cut vessel waiting times.

Operations are expected to start with a handling capacity of at least 2 million tons a year in the first phase. The facility will serve shipping routes to East Africa, the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, the Far East, and India—strengthening Sokhna’s role as a regional trade hub.

SCZone Chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dein said the project marks “a step-change” in Sokhna’s logistics capabilities and supports the authority’s strategy to integrate its ports and industrial zones to boost supply chain efficiency and reduce logistics costs.

Sky Ports CEO Tarek Hussein said Egypt’s port development programme has created “a promising environment for long-term private sector investment,” adding that the company aims to replicate its success in running the smart, sustainable terminal at East Port Said.

The MoU forms part of a broader development plan, the authority said, with the temporary licensing arrangement offering an immediate pathway to utilise the berth ahead of signing a final long-term usufruct contract.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English