Egypt’s East Port Said (EPS) has surged to 3rd place globally—and 1st in MENA—in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2024, up from 10th in 2022, underscoring the port’s rapid transformation into a high-efficiency transshipment hub at the Mediterranean gateway of the Suez Canal.
The CPPI—compiled annually with S&P Global Market Intelligence and covering 400+ container ports—benchmarks performance primarily by vessel time in port and associated operational efficiency. The 2024 edition shows East Asian ports leading overall, while EPS stands out among the most improved globally over 2020–2024.
Officials credited the rise to a package of terminal expansions, digitization of port-community processes, and tighter vessel scheduling, which together reduced waiting times and lifted productivity. The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) hailed the ranking as a new milestone in Egypt’s container trade ambitions, noting close coordination with the Suez Canal Authority and the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), operated by A.P. Moller – Maersk/APM Terminals.
SCZone and SCCT are advancing a major Phase 3 expansion at East Port Said. The investment adds 2.1 million TEU of annual capacity, taking the terminal’s installed capacity to about 6.6 million TEU, with works entering trial operation in 2025. Project disclosures indicate construction running into 2025, with the upgrade designed to sharpen turnaround performance for mega-ships traversing east-west trade lanes.
Located at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal, EPS sits astride the main Asia–Europe routes and was conceived as a transshipment hub when inaugurated in 2004. Its latest performance gains align with Egypt’s broader canal-corridor upgrades and SCZone expansion plan to attract cargo, manufacturing, and green-fuel investments.
