By Ibrahim El-Masry
Dr. Galal El-Said, Minister of Transportation, announced that the Cabinet approved a new authority to manage transportation in the greater Cairo region in coordination with the various agencies responsible for road, bridges, tunnels, and traffic, noting that the new authority would have a chief executive and that the Minister of Transportation would be responsible for its administration.
He said that the new project requires only the approval of the new President to proceed.
The statement came during El-Said’s appearance before the Shura Council’s Transportation Committee, which is headed by Dr. Mohamed Sadek.
The Minister also said that it had been agreed with the Governor of Port Said to allocate land in the province along the Ring Road to hold shipping containers, a step which will reduce the amount of trucks coming in and out of the city.
The Minister said that the agreement will move traffic coming out of Port Said to the south or west of Damietta on the coastal road, noting that the agreement was included in the 2013 plan to provide lighting for the Ring Road around Port Said.
He stressed that in less than a month the Ministry will submit the conditions for contracts related to building the new container station, dubbed Container Station No. 2.
He said that the project will rely on Egyptian enterprises, noting that Egyptian companies would undertake 75% of the project’s requirements while foreign companies would hold a maximum of a 25% stake.
He said that after the new station is built that Port Said will be able to process 6 million containers a year, which will in turn attract more shipping investment and raise total capacity to 7 million containers.
The Minister said the project will increase the area of the Port Said Port from 54 square kilometers to 72 square kilometers.
He also revealed a plan to build a new shipping channel to the east of Port Said that will cost between $85m and $90m, explaining that the finances necessary for the first stage have been guaranteed by the Arab Fund for Development in coordination with the Ministry of International Cooperation.
