Japanese shipping company, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) will participate in a consortium that would set up and operate a dedicated automotive terminal at East Port in Egypt.
On December 19, 2019, NYK and its partners Bolloré Africa Logistics and Toyota Tsusho Corporation signed an agreement with the Egyptian General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The facility will be Egypt’s first exclusive roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) terminal, with a 600-meter wharf area that allows two large pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) to berth simultaneously.
The terminal will additionally offer sufficient vehicle storage space to address increasing future demand, according to NYK.
The automotive market in Egypt is expected to expand along with population growth and economic development, and the Alexandria Port, which currently handles almost all of Egypt’s vehicle imports, is a multipurpose port that sees a variety of cargo and lacks storage space.
Therefore, the new dedicated automotive terminal to be developed and operated by the consortium would be “favorably received”, NYK said.
Commercial operations at the new East Port Said RoRo terminal are planned to commence in late 2021.—World Maritime News