A new port project is being built on the Suez Canal in Ain Sokhna. The dredging work for two new harbour basins has now been completed.
The Dutch specialist shipping company Van Oord deployed the dredging vessels “Artemis” and “Vox Amalia” and dredged around 21 million m³ of bund in the process.
The dredging of two new harbour basins in the port of Ain Sokhna has been completed, marking the successful conclusion of a project, Van Oord has now announced.
The work is part of a port expansion program aimed at improving the economic zone of the Suez Canal. The plan is to exploit “the enormous potential of the Suez Canal as a global hub for maritime traffic”.
The port of Ain Sokhna is located on the west coast of the Gulf of Suez, about 120 km east of Cairo and 40 km south of Suez. Thanks to this strategic location and extensive investments, the port is set to develop rapidly into an important industrial centre. It will soon be the largest port on the Red Sea and serve trade between Asia, Europe and North Africa.
Major expansion plans for the Suez Canal
The General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Egypt commissioned Van Oord to dredge around 21 million cubic meters of soil to create two new port basins. To dredge the hard soil, Van Oord used its self-propelled cutter suction dredger “Artemis” and the trailing suction hopper dredger “Vox Amalia”, together with a supporting fleet of equipment.
The dredged material was deposited in a designated area approximately 9.5 km offshore. According to Van Oord, the project was completed within 14 months.
The expansion plans include new container, bulk, breakbulk and liquid bulk terminals as well as logistics, storage and distribution centres and a dry port. Another goal is to establish the first green hydrogen port in Africa. A high-speed electric railroad will connect the port to Ain Sokhna, Alexandria and New Alamein, boosting supply routes and the development of New Cairo.
“Following our involvement in the second Suez Canal in 2015, Van Oord is very proud to have once again contributed to Egypt’s economic growth and the transformation of the port of Ain Sokhna into the largest hub on the Red Sea,” said Martin Smouter, Director Dredging & Infra at Van Oord.
