By: Fahd Omran
Cairo – Mubasher: Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), an Egyptian unit of Denmark-based Maersk, is expected to turn to losses in 2019 for the first time since it has started operation in Eastern Port Said port in 2004.
The company’s profits in the Egyptian market has declined to $5 million at the end of 2018, versus $10 million in 2017, SCCT CEO said.
SCCT is likely to incur losses this year for the first time since 2004 due to the company’s competitiveness with other ports on the Mediterranean, as well as high fees in Eastern Port Said port, Lars Chirstensen told reporters.
The CEO projected that the company would suffer $1 million in losses month-on-month in 2019, pointing out that SCCT may shed around 400 employees and workers to cut expenditures, as well as restrict investment expansion plans.
He said that some shipping lines would not return to Eastern Port Said port unless the government finds a plan based on fees stability for three to five years, noting that many lines have turned to the Greek Port of Piraeus.
Furthermore, Chirstensen expected that around 2.5 to 2.6 million containers to operate this year, compared to 2.6 million containers in 2018 out of total 6.2 and 6.5 million annually across Egypt.
Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din
