The Suez Canal Container Terminal has inaugurated an 8.5-kilometre access channel which connects the East Port Said complex to the Mediterranean Sea.

The channel, which measures 18.5 metres in depth, enables vessels of up to 18,000 TEUs in capacity to access the terminal and the port 24 hours a day, without having to wait six to eight hours for a time window between vessel convoys transiting the canal.

“I would like to express both my appreciation and my admiration of Admiral Mamish, the Suez Canal Authority, and the Government of Egypt for their inspiring dedication to this historic infrastructure investment, which emphasizes the key role that Egypt plays in global trade and the global economy,” said Jan Buijze, terminal director of SCCT.

The US$40 million project was completed in three months, and follows the opening of the new Suez Canal in August 2015.

SCCT is owned by APM Terminals, which has a 55-percent stake, COSCO Pacific, which holds 20 percent, the Suez Canal Authority, which owns 10.3 percent, the National Bank of Egypt with 5 percent, and private Egyptian investors, who own the remainder.

The terminal is expecting to take delivery of four more Super-Post-Panamax cranes in 2016, increasing its capacity to 5.4 million TEUs per year and making it the largest container terminal in the Mediterranean in terms of capacity.