Egypt's Transport Ministry has signed a contract for the construction of a 630-m-long and 17-m-deep berth at Damietta, one of the oldest ports in the country, with an adjacent handling yard totaling 75,000 sq m.

The agreement comes in line with the ministry’s ambitious plan to upgrade ports of Egypt in a record time, said Vice Admiral Ayman Saleh Ibrahim, the chairman of Damietta Port Authority (DPA) after signing the contract.

Last October, Prime Minister Mahlab had inaugurated two new berths in Damietta.

With the project completion, the ships of all dimensions and volumes will be able to enter the Damietta port, stated Saleh Ibrahim.

"It also coincides with a really big ongoing dredging operation of the Access Channel carried out by world’s premier dredging company to reach 16.5-m draft,” he added.

The signing, which took place in The Arab Academy for Sciences, Technology And Maritime transport, was attended by a panel of key maritime transport sector officials, academy figures, Engineering professors and shipping agencies.-TradeArabia News Service