DP World opens logistics park in Egypt amid Red Sea traffic slowdown
DUBAI-headquartered DP World today officially opened its Sokhna Logistics Park in Egypt.
The park was developed in partnership with the UK’s British International Investment, with DP World investing $85m in the park.
It is located in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, 15 minutes away from Sokhna port, 30 minutes from Suez and 45 minutes away from the New Administrative Capital.
DP World has already secured initial contracts and has some 90 customers in the pipeline.
The opening of thelogistics park comes amid a dip in vessel traffic in the region, on the back of vessel attacks on the Red Sea.
Suez Canal Authority data shows a sharp drop in vessel traffic since its 2022/23 fiscal year, when attacks on the Red Sea first began.
The number of vessels fell from 25,911 in the 2022/23 financial year, the highest since the fiscal year of 2015/16, to just 12,393 in 2024/25 financial year.
Similar trends were observed when data was compared on net tonne and cargo tonne bases.
The canal saw a fall from 1.5bn net tonnes in 2022/23 to 483m in 2024/25. These figures declined from 1.3bn to 416m on a cargo tonne basis.
This dip is expected to persist despite the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Major shipping lines are expected to adopt a wait-and-watch approach before fully committing to Suez transits once again.
But it is unlikely to have a big impact on DP World’s balance sheet.
In 2024, DP World indicated that the ports of Sokhna and Jeddah make up less than 5% of its total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
DP World also saw a 21.4% year-on-year increase in its ebitda during the first half of this year, driven by growth in ports and terminals as well as marine services.
The port operator’s resilient financials have allowed it to continue placing strategic investments in Egypt despite the recent challenges.
“Our commitment in Egypt goes beyond the port,” said chairman and group chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
“We are building a sustainable, fully integrated logistics ecosystem that offers end-to-end solutions — from factory floor to customer door — driving seamless integration and trade flows that will boost exports, create jobs and support economic growth.”
Phase 2 of the Sokhna Logistics Park is expected to launch in the third quarter. This will bring the park’s total area to 300,000 sq m.
DP World also announced the breaking of ground for a new $29m, 16,000 sq m cold storage facility at 6th of October City in Egypt.
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