France-based transport company CMA CGM has entered into a partnership with Egypt’s Port of Alexandria to manage and operate the port. The port is expected to be operational by next year. The development was confirmed by the company’s CEO Rodolphe Saade.
The move by CMA CGM marks its development of port operations in the Mediterranean. The terminal will power the deployment of larger vessels and it has the capacity of around 1.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).
The company currently employees over 330 workers in Egypt and links the country to the rest of the world through six ports. It is reported that the company’s vessels travel across the Suez Canal more than 700 times. The company will utilise its future LNG Vessels in the Mediterranean.
CMA CGM, told the media, “CMA CGM strengthens its strategic positioning and expertise as a container terminal operator in the Mediterranean with terminal capacities of almost 7 million TEUs. At the crossroads between Africa, Asia and Europe, the Mediterranean represents a major area for the development of the Group’s operations in maritime transportation, port operations and logistics. Committed to the energy transition of the maritime industry, the Group will also deploy its service between Asia and the Mediterranean LNG-powered vessels of 15,000 TEUs by the end of 2021. As part of his strategic vision, Mr Rodolphe Saade has decided to choose Marseille-Fos to bunker these new LNG vessels, making the Mediterranean a major area for the development of the use of LNG.