Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir assured on Tuesday that Egypt did not sell the Ain Sokhna Port.
Egypt instead contracted global alliances consisting of Hutchison, CMA, and COSCO to operate and manage the Ain Sokhna dock, and implement the superstructure of electrical and interlock works, control buildings, and warehouses, he explained, with the land and port still belonging to Egypt.
In a television interview on the “Sada al-Balad” channel, the minister added that a new wharf was constructed in Ain Sokhna Port totaling 2.4 kilometers to the sea after removing 25 million cubic meters of dry excavation.
The eastern entrance to the port’s area was increased by about four million square meters by national Egyptian companies, he said.
“The global operator benefits from the Ain Sokhna dock in that it receives financial return for every container movement and operates its own ships, while we charge nine dollars annually for each square meter, $10 for a 20-foot container, and nine dollars for a transit container,” the minister added.
