Port Of Said, Egypt

Port of Said lies near the Suez Canal in northeastern Egypt across the canal from its twin city, Port of Fouad. The city’s economy is based on fishing, some industry, and the port. Port Said is important for exporting Egyptian cotton and rice and for refueling ships that pass through the Suez Canal. It is also a duty-free port and a summer resort for the region.

Port Said industries include manufacturers of textiles, glass, watches, clothing, china, cosmetics, and automobile tires and batteries. It also has a healthy publishing industry. The city is linked to the nation’s rail network. In 2006, about 570 thousand people lived in the area surrounding Port Said.

The Port Said Port Authority (PSPA) is responsible for managing and operating the port which includes Port Said West, El Arish Port, and Port Said East. The PSPA has installed state-of-the-art technologies and constructed new deep terminals to accommodate the latest ocean-going vessels. It has also added new storehouses, silos, and yards to handle the increasing volume of cargoes traveling through the port. 

Port Said occupies over three million square meters, including 1.3 million square meters of land and 1.7 million square meters of coastal waters. Port Said is designed to handle almost 15 million tons of cargo each year on vessels with 13.2 meters draft.

Port Said contains a Dry Bulk Terminal with two berths totaling 246 meters with alongside depth of 12.8 meters and combined silos and warehouses capable of storing about two million tons. Warehouses cover an area of 30.2 thousand square meters. The Container Terminal has eight berths of a total 947.3 meters in length and alongside depth of 13 meters. The terminal covers 435 thousand square meters and has capacity to handle 700 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. It is also equipped with reefers for refrigerated containers. The roll-on/roll-off terminal has a 125-meter long berth with alongside depth of 8.2 meters. The General Cargo Terminal, with seven berths totaling 940 meters with alongside depth of 8.2 meters, receives vessels carrying, among other cargoes, livestock and frozen goods.

The Cruise Terminal contains three berths totaling 400 meters in length and alongside depth of 10 meters. The berths can accommodate ships to 200 meters long, and an additional jetty of 325 meters can receive ships of 300 meters long with alongside depth of 10.7 meters. The passenger terminal is well-furnished with fully-equipped reception halls. Port Said has an excellent facility for berthing yachts. It can accommodate over 70 yachts ranging from 13 to 18 meters long.

Port Said is expanding its facilities. Adding new areas of around 500 thousand square meters, it is increasing alongside depth of the container terminals to receive larger ships refurbishing port infrastructure for more efficient movement of cargo, and incorporating new electronic management technologies.

Port Said has capacity to handle 12.2 million tons of cargo per year, including 4.9 million tons of general cargo, 2.5 million tons of dry bulk, and 4.7 million tons of containerized cargo in 800 thousand TEUs. It can also handle 300 thousand passengers a year. The port contains total warehouse area of 90 thousand square meters and total container yard area of 435 thousand square meters.

Port Said East covers 35 square kilometers, including 1.5 square kilometers of water surface and 33.5 square kilometers of land area. It offers 642 thousand square kilometers of cargo-handling yards. Port Said East has capacity to handle 2.2 million TEUs of containerized cargo totaling 6 million tons each year.

In 2007, Port Said and Port Said East imported a combined total of 12.8 million tons of cargo, dominated by transshipments of 10.3 million tons (6.6 of those at Port Said East). Port Said handled imports of 1.2 million tons of dry bulk, 1.1 million tons of containers, and 123 thousand tons of general cargoes.

Exports passing through Port Said in 2007 totaled 12.4 million tons of cargo, including 10 million tons of transshipments (6.5 million tons each through Port Said East). Port Said also exported two million tons of containerized cargoes in 2007. Port Said handled 75% of all of Egypt’s container transshipments in 2007.

Port Said has been ranked the first among the Egyptian cities according to the Human Development Index in 2009 and 2010, the economic base of the city is fishing and industries, like chemicals, processed food, and cigarettes. Port Said is also an important harbour for exports of Egyptian products like cotton and rice, but also a fueling station for ships that pass through the Suez Canal. It thrives on being a duty-free port, as well as a tourist resort especially during summer. It is home to the Lighthouse of Port Said (the first building in the world built from reinforced concrete).

Port Said acted as a global city since its establishment and flourished particularly during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century when it was inhabited by various nationalities and religions most of them were from Mediterranean countries, they coexisted in tolerance forming a real cosmopolitan community. Referring to this fact Rudyard Kipling once said "If you truly wish to find someone you have known and who travels, there are two points on the globe you have but to sit and wait, sooner or later your man will come there: the docks of London and Port Said."