Posted on June 5, 2024
Egypt is all set to establish the nation’s first vessel recycling facility.
This week, the Ministry of Transport’s Holding Co., dedicated to Maritime and Land Transport (abbreviated as HCMLT), signed a MoU with the El Wehda Industrial Company to develop a shipbreaking yard based in Damietta Port.
Kamel El-Wazir, the Egyptian Transport Minister, mentioned the collaboration is part of a presidential directive for boosting public-private associations in the transport sector.
It’s aimed at boosting the development of the local iron and steel sector, which currently depends on scrap metal (imported).
This can be replaced with vessel recycling materials that are locally sourced.
The shipbreaking facility is anticipated to produce 1.5 million tons of scrap over five years, equivalent to 66% of the total scrap the local market needs for producing iron.
Egypt yields about eight million tons of iron yearly, against the licensed capacity of 16 million tons — partly due to the absence of scrap in the local market.
Almost three million tons of scrap are imported yearly, but this will likely decline with inputs from the vessel recycling yard.
The facility will cover an area of 155,000 sq meters to the west of Damietta Port’s western barrier.
The initiative will also include the construction of a 1.5-kilometre sea barrier to stop siltation.
As a medium-sized yard (classified as 50,000–500,000 sq meters), it can dismantle the vessels with a maximum length of 230 meters.
Egypt further hopes to become a significant vessel recycling destination, making the best use of its strategic position along crucial international shipping channels.
