Egypt’s Red Sea Ports Authority is preparing to launch a tender in the coming days for local investors to manage and operate two berths at Port Tawfiq and Taba under a concession that could run for up to 30 years, a board member at the authority told Al Manassa.
The move comes as the Transport Ministry looks to widen competition and avoid concentrating Red Sea port operations in the hands of a few foreign operators, according to the official, who requested anonymity. The ministry wants the two projects awarded to Egyptian companies or consortia, with no foreign partners, to help strike a balance between the authority’s berths and privately run berths overlooking the Red Sea.
The source said the Port Tawfiq berth is 365 meters long with a 7-meter depth, while the Taba berth runs 520 meters with a 12-meter depth. Each includes a back-up yard to facilitate loading and unloading operations.
Established in 1978, the Red Sea Ports Authority, oversees several commercial and touristic maritime sites and ports, including Suez (Port Tawfiq), Safaga, Nuweiba, the Zeitiyat petroleum dock, Hurghada, and Sharm El-Sheikh, according to the Ministry of Transport website.
The source said Abu Dhabi Ports is considered one of the authority’s strategic operators in several projects, but the upcoming tender is meant to open the door to other operators, especially serious Egyptian companies, rather than limiting competition to foreign investors.
The authority will screen companies before allowing them to submit bids, the source said, and plans to offer incentives, including support in preparing feasibility studies, help connecting with shipping lines to ensure regular maritime services, and streamlined licensing for superstructure works, including extending license terms without penalties when needed.
He stressed the importance of setting usufruct fees in a way that ensures a fair profit margin for operators, based on the expected volumes at each project.
The authority is expected to hand over a multipurpose terminal in Safaga to AD Ports Group in the coming period, after the two sides signed a 30-year concession agreement in 2023. Under the deal, the Emirati group will develop a multipurpose terminal at Safaga Port under the name “Noatum Ports, Safaga Terminal.”
The group expanded its investment portfolio in May, signing a renewable 50-year usufruct agreement to develop and operate “KEZAD East Port Said,” an industrial and logistics area spanning 20 square kilometers at the entrance to the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean coast.
In November, ADP bought its first stake of 19.3% in Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company (ALCN). In December, it said it was seeking to acquire a further 32% of the company’s shares, which would give it a controlling stake.
Egypt has 55 seaports in total, including 18 commercial ports and 37 specialized ports. The Transport Ministry owns nine of them, including Alexandria, Dekheila, Damietta, Port Tawfiq, Suez, Nuweiba, Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, and Safaga.
