Damietta Alliance Container Terminal: Final Financing Contract signed

CAIRO: The Damietta Alliance Container Terminal (DACT) has signed the final financing contract for its state-of-the-art container terminal in Damietta, Egypt. The financing consortium comprises international development banks including European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”), the International Finance Corporation(“IFC”), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (“AIIB”), DEG and Proparco.

The signing event for the contract took place on Tuesday in the New Administrative Capital Cairo at the Ministry of Transport in presence of the Transport Minister of Egypt, the Minister of International Cooperation of Egypt, as well as the German Ambassador. Representatives from all lending institutions, DACT’s management team, and consortium partners came together to mark this significant milestone in the project’s development.

“We are particularly proud that this group of prominent development institutions, including EBRD, IFC, AIIB, DEG and Proparco is supporting the Damietta Alliance consortium with know-how, as well as a landmark financing package tailored to the necessities of the project,” stated Tom Eckelmann, CEO of the EUROGATE Group.

“Our investment in the new terminal aims to open up new markets and boost economic growth in the region. The enhanced infrastructure will significantly improve our transshipment operations in the East Mediterranean market and at the same time provide better access to the local Egyptian trade”, said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.

While the construction of the infrastructure is currently underway, the management team of DACT is already engaged in Damietta. The Go-Live of the terminal is scheduled for the beginning of 2025, with a final total operational capacity of 3.3 million TEU. The terminal will serve as Hapag-Lloyd’s dedicated strategic transshipment hub in the East Mediterranean.

The Joint Venture, “Damietta Alliance Container Terminal S.A.E.,” consists of three core shareholders: Hapag-Lloyd Damietta GmbH (39%), Eurogate Damietta GmbH (29.5%), and Contship Damietta Srl (29.5%). Additionally, Middle East Logistics & Consultants Group and Ship & C.R.E.W. Egypt S.A.E. each hold a 1% stake in the venture.

About Hapag-Lloyd
With a fleet of 264 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 2.0 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. In the Liner Shipping segment, the Company has around 13,500 employees and 400 offices in 135 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 2.9 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 113 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports across the world. In the Terminal & Infrastructure segment, Hapag-Lloyd has stakes in 20 terminals in Europe, Latin America, the United States, India, and North Africa. The roughly 2,600 employees assigned to the Terminal & Infrastructure segment handle terminal-related activities and provide complementary logistics services at selected locations.

About EUROGATE
EUROGATE is the leading, shipping line independent container terminal operator Group in Europe. Jointly with the Italian terminal operator CONTSHIP Italia, the company operates a network of container terminals at 12 locations from the North Sea coast to the Mediterranean area. In addition to container handling services at seaports, EUROGATE offers intermodal transport and additional services around the box. EUROGATE was founded in 1999, and handled around 11.9 million TEUs Europe-wide in 2022. For more information, please visit www.eurogate.eu

About CONTSHIP Italia
CONTSHIP ITALIA is the holding company of a group founded in 1969, engaged in the development of integrated solutions for the transport and handling of goods through the management of maritime container terminals, railway terminals and intermodal transport services. The Contship Italia Group operates directly in the ports of La Spezia, Ravenna, Salerno, Tangier and in the railway hubs of Melzo (MI) and Marzaglia (MO), handling around 4 million TEUs World-wide in 2021. For more information, please visit www.contshipitalia.com