| Port of Alexandria | |
|---|---|
 General view of Alexandria port | |
 Interactive map of Port of Alexandria | |
| Location | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Location | Alexandria |
| Coordinates | 31°12′16″N29°52′48″E / 31.2045796°N 29.8800659°E /31.2045796; 29.8800659 |
| UN/LOCODE | EGALY[1] |
| Details | |
| Operated by | Alexandria Port Authority |
| Type ofharbour | Coastal breakwater |
| Size of harbour | 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi) |
| Land area | 22.8 square kilometres (8.8 sq mi) |
| No. ofberths | 67 |
| Statistics | |
| Annual cargotonnage | 17,627,762 (2012) |
| Annualcontainer volume | 1,442,712 (2012) |
| Website Official website  | |
ThePort of Alexandria is located on thenorthern coast of Egypt, to the West of theNile Delta. In antiquityAlexandria was built between theMediterranean Sea andMariut Lake. The latter was connected to theRiver Nile via canals, allowing goods at the Port to travel to and from the country's interior.
Alexandria is now considered the second most important city in Egypt and the Port of Alexandria is the main port in the country. It consists of two harbours (East and West) separated by a T-shapedpeninsula.The East harbour is shallow and is notnavigable by large vessels. The West harbour is used for commercial shipping. The harbour is formed by two convergingbreakwaters.
Alexandria Port is one of the oldest ports in the world. The earliest port facilities were built in 1900 BC in the then-village ofRhakotis, to service coastal shipping and supply the island ofPharos (now part of the"Ras al-Tin" quarter).
Over the centuries sand and silt deposits made the port unnavigable. It was cleared by forces under the command ofAlexander the Great in 331 BC as part of the construction of Alexandria city to be the marine base for his fleet. Alexander's engineer Dinocrat linked the port of Alexandria and the island of Pharos with a bridge 1200 meters long and 200 meters wide, creating two harbour basins for commercial and military shipping. The northeast basin (Portus Magnus, currently the Eastern harbour) was designed for military vessels and the southwest basin (Portus Eunostus, currently the main port of Alexandria) was for commercial use. In thePtolemy era a second bridge was built to Pharos, further dividing the eastern harbour into two separate inlets.
According toStrabo, Alexandria had an inland harbour onLake Mareotis as well as the harbours on the Mediterranean. The lake had no mouth connecting it to the sea but was instead connected to the Nile by canals. Strabo describes the lake harbour as being busier than the harbours on the sea.[2] During the period ofRoman Egypt, grain was exported in large quantities from the city's Western Harbour, earning it the name "Portus Magnus". The grain was brought down the Nile by barge and stored in large granaries near the shore of Lake Mareotis before shipping. At the height of the Roman Empire, Alexandria was shipping 83,000 tons of grain per year to Rome. By the time of the late Empire, the city was shipping 220,000 tons of grain per year toConstantinople.[3]
Muhammad Ali of Egypt issued the order to restore and partly retrace the freshwater canal from the Nile upon his ascension to power. On its completion in 1820 it was named theMahmoudiyah Canal. Under Muhammad Ali's rule, Alexandria shipyard was founded.
DuringWorld War I, the BritishMediterranean Expeditionary Force that took part in theGallipoli Campaign used the established port of Alexandria as its main base for troops and supplies bound for thelanding at Cape Helles.[4]
By the late 20th century sea trade through the Port of Alexandria was exceeding its capacity. A new port was built atEl-Dekheila during the 1980s with facilities forcontainer shipping and infrastructure to serve the nearby steel factory. In addition to the Port of Dekheila and the Western Port of Alexandria, the city's ports include those atAbu Qir and Sidi Krer, as well as Alexandria's old Eastern Port which is no longer used for shipping freight.[5]
TheAlexandria Shipyard was originally developed in the 1960s with assistance of the government of theSoviet Union and in 2004 the shipyard ownership was transferred to theMinistry of Defense
Egypt has a total of 15 commercial ports along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts. Alexandria Port, controlled by the Alexandria Port Authority, is the country's largest and it handles approximately 55% of Egypt'sinternational trade.[6] Overall Alexandria's various harbours handle over three quarters of Egypt's foreign trade, with nearly 80% of the country's imports and exports passing through the city.[7]
The western port is divided into several zones: