Supporting the development of the strategic Damietta Port

The Joint Venture Damietta Alliance Container Terminals is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established by Eurogate (29.5%), Contship Italia (29.5%), Hapag Lloyd (39%), MELC Group (1%), and Ship & C.R.E.W (1%) to design, develop, operate and maintain the container terminal II of Damietta Port under a 30-year concession.

Eurogate and its sister company Contship Italia are European container terminal operators and already operate several sea terminals in the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

Hapag-Lloyd is a leading global liner shipping company with 264 vessels, an 11.8 million TEU transport volume per year, and about 16,100 employees in 135 countries. Hapag-Lloyd also has stakes in 20 terminals in Europe, Latin America, the United States, India and North Africa.

A consortium of international institutions is supporting the development of a second container terminal in Damietta Port in Egypt, which will triple the port’s container capacity and improve its competitiveness. 

The USD 455m financing package includes USD 125m from the EBRD, USD 120m from IFC, USD 100m from AIIB, USD 60m from DEG, and USD 50m from Proparco. 

The go-live of the terminal is scheduled for early 2025 with a final total operational capacity of 3.3 million TEU. The terminal will serve as Hapag-Lloyd’s dedicated strategic transhipment hub in the East Mediterranean.

Damietta Alliance Container Terminals will develop its environmental and social (E&S) management system in line with the lenders’ environmental, health and safety guidelines and international best practice. 

Additional support will also focus on delivering a skills development program for people living in the Damietta region, in partnership with local vocational schools with a focus on women’s participation in the workforce.

Damietta Port is an attractive shipping site in the Mediterranean, with a strategic location close to the Suez Canal. The development of the terminal comes as a response to growing demand for container traffic in Egyptian ports. This expansion will increase Damietta Port’s competitive position as a strategic hub in the East Mediterranean, while supporting 2,200 direct and indirect jobs. 

The project will contribute to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure).