DP World has won a concession to double the size of its container operations at Sokhna Port on Egypt's Red Sea coast, the company said in a statement.

Sokhna, near the southern end of the Suez Canal, is Cairo's main port for cargo from the Far East.

The concession will allow DP World to extend the length of its quay by 1,300 metres and add 1.75 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo capacity to its operations, DP World said. The new capacity is expected to come online in four years.

"The new agreement replaces the original concession agreement awarded to DP World Sokhna and further extends the concession to 35 years after the construction of the new terminal," it said.

The concession, awarded by Egypt's Red Sea Ports Authority, involves investment of $700 million, Egypt's state news agency MENA said earlier, without elaborating.

It will add 640,000 square metres to DP World's current 925,000 square metres of cargo space at the port and increase the total length of its quays to 2,800 metres, the agency quoted Transport Minister Alaa Fahmy as saying.

The extension should increase the authority's revenue by $180 million a year, Fahmy added. (Reuters)