Ain Sokhna Port is getting additional investment from Emirati port giant DP World and CDC Group, the UK government’s development finance arm.
The two institutions are setting up a joint USD 1.7 bn African investment platform, a portion of which will go towards Ain Sokhna, DP World said in a statement.
Over the next “several years,” the platform will invest in several infrastructure and logistics projects on the continent, including origin and destination ports, inland container depots, economic zones and other logistics across Africa to increase trade
The platform “initially be seeded with minority stakes in existing DP World assets with significant capacity expansion plans,” including the Dakar Port in Senegal and the Berbera Port in Somaliland.
The financing breakdown: In addition to its minority stakes, DP World is putting up USD 1 bn over the next several years, while CDC will initially invest some USD 320 mn, with an additional USD 400 mn to come at a later stage.
DP World invested USD 520 mn in the expansion of the Ain Sokhna seaport during late 2019, bringing DP’s total investments to USD 1.6 bn.
The expansion included building a second dock that doubled the port’s capacity to 1.75 mn TEU from 970k.
Shortly after, DP World Sokhna signed a partnership agreement with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and the China Ocean Shipping Company Ltd (COSCO), to become the main terminal for construction material imported for the central business and financial district of the new administrative capital. Last year, company CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem described himself as “bullish” on Africa and praised Egypt’s economic policies as being pro-growth.
