The harbour basin will have a water depth of 18 metres, compared to the current 14 metres found at Terminal 1, which means that the new terminal will be able to handle ships of all sizes, including the 23,500+ TEU dual fuel ships the carrier just ordered.

The terminal is slated for completion by the second half 2024, with operations ramping up in 2025.

Marwan El Sammak, managing director Area Egypt, commented: "When we have more services call at our new terminal in Damietta we expect to deliver to the market a much stronger value proposition and much better connectivity, this will ensure a higher customer satisfaction."

The company anticipates the project to ensure a reduction in overall operating costs, which will ultimately lead to higher performance, improved productivity and more on-time handling.

The terminal will be equipped with 50 state-of-the-art rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), half of which will be powered by electricity, as well as 16 ship-to-shore cranes (STSs).

"We put a lot of thought into what the most suitable solution could be, as we naturally also had in mind Hapag-Lloyd's and our customers' demands for the greatest possible degree of sustainability," added Matthias Muller, senior director business administration region South Europe, Genoa.