Terminal in Egypt with German Involvement Starts - Egypt's Damietta Terminal Opens as a New Europe-Asia Trade Powerhouse

A major new container terminal in Egypt, the Damietta Terminal, will officially open this weekend. Located near the Suez Canal, it has already become a key hub for Europe-Asia trade. Owned by a consortium including Hapag-Lloyd, Eurogate, and Contship, the facility is set to welcome its first scheduled vessel, the Essen Express, on Saturday.

The terminal, located in the port city of Damietta about 60 kilometres west of the Suez Canal's northern entrance, opened in 2021 as Egypt's first deep-water container port on the Mediterranean. By 2022, it handled over 1.5 million standard containers (TEUs), capturing 10–15% of regional transshipment volumes.

Its rapid growth outpaced newer rivals like Turkey's Kumport (around 1 million TEUs after a 2021 expansion) and Israel's Haifa Bayport (phase 2, 2021, reaching ~800,000 TEUs). The terminal's success stems from its strategic location near the Suez Canal and lower operational costs. When fully operational, it is expected to process up to 3.3 million TEUs annually.

Ownership is split between Hapag-Lloyd's subsidiary (39%), Eurogate, and Contship—part of the Eurokai group, which also holds a 50% stake in Eurogate. Together, Eurogate and Contship own nearly 30% of the terminal. For comparison, Hamburg's four container terminals combined handle around 12 million TEUs per year.

The official opening marks a milestone for the terminal's expansion. With its capacity and strategic position, it is poised to handle more cargo between Europe and Asia. The Essen Express docking on Saturday will be the first of many vessels calling at the facility.