Suez Canal Containers Terminal Eyes $60 Mn in Investments in 2021

Cranes are seen near the Suez Canal in Port Said, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
Cranes are seen near the Suez Canal in Port Said, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
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Suez Canal Containers Terminal Eyes $60 Mn in Investments in 2021

Cranes are seen near the Suez Canal in Port Said, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
Cranes are seen near the Suez Canal in Port Said, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)

The Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) aims to invest $60 million during 2021 to develop the infrastructure of the east terminal of Port Said port, announced Chief Commercial Officer Sunai Mukherjee.

Mukherjee told a press conference in Cairo Tuesday that the company, which owns 18 cranes including six giant cranes, will add another six in 2021.

Asked by Reuters about the number of containers in circulation, Mukherjee indicated that the volume of container handling increased to 20 percent in 2020 to reach 3.78 million containers, which is the highest circulation rate in the history of the terminal’s operation since its inception in 2004.

He said the company is targeting a seven percent increase in the number of containers handled during this year.

The company also aims to raise its winches from 50 to 60-yard winches, according to Mukherjee.

The majority shareholding of SCCT is held by APM Terminals, while 20 percent of the shares are held by COSCO, 10 percent are held by Suez Canal and Affiliates, 5 percent by the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and the remaining 10 percent are held by the Egyptian private sector.



Türkiye Says Exports to Palestinians Surge after Halting Trade with Israel over Gaza War

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Says Exports to Palestinians Surge after Halting Trade with Israel over Gaza War

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Türkiye's exports to Palestinian territories leapt sixfold in the first nine months of the year to $571.2 million, data showed on Tuesday, five months after the country halted trade with Israel in protest over its war in Gaza.

The 526% rise in exports occurred largely after the ban went into effect. In the first four months of the year, Turkish exports to Palestinian territories were up 35% to $49.4 million, according to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).

Turkish opposition lawmaker ​​Mustafa Yeneroglu on Monday submitted questions to parliament about the sharp increase in exports to Palestinian areas and ongoing ship traffic from Türkiye to Israel, despite the trade ban.

Yeneroglu asked Trade Minister Omer Bolat to respond to local media reports that trade with Israel was quietly continuing through Palestinian companies, with shipping documents describing goods as going to Palestinian territories when they were actually going to Israel.

Asked for comment by Reuters, the Trade Ministry pointed to previous statements on the issue. On Sept. 18, it denied trade with Israel was continuing, reiterating that it ended on May 2.

It said Palestinian authorities had declared several times that Turkish goods were used exclusively in Palestinian areas.

These territories encompass the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Arab East Jerusalem.

The trade ministry imposed export restrictions on 54 categories of products to Israel in April before completely halting exports and imports in early May.

At the time, Türkiye said it would not resume trade with Israel, worth $7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid were secured in Gaza, becoming the first of Israel's key commercial partners to take such a step.

Israel launched a devastating war against Hamas in Gaza a year ago after the Palestinian Islamist group's deadly cross-border attack.