First yacht marina powered by renewable energy in Egypt

Egypt plans to establish its first yacht marina powered by renewable energy, the chairperson of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie announced yesterday.

According to a number of Middle Eastern news channels, Rabie indicated that the plan would cover an area of 25,000m², with a capacity of about 65 yachts, and will include the establishment of a hotel and a commercial area, as well as a tourist walkway with a length of 850m.

Another marina with a capacity of 75 yachts will also be launched in Port Said.

The announcement followed a meeting with the Prime Minister to follow up on Egypt’s plans to maximise income from yacht tourism in the country. The meeting was attended by Minister of Transport Kamel Al-Wazir, and Head of the Maritime Transport Sector in the Ministry of Transport, Reda Ismail.

During the meeting, the Minister of Transport discussed the results of the work of the Higher Ministerial Committee concerned with developing a strategy for maximising yacht tourism in Egypt and attracting more foreign yachts to Egyptian ports and marinas.

Al-Wazir indicated that the Prime Minister ordered the issuance of a regulation for foreign yacht tourism, including the establishment of a single digital window for foreign yachts.

It will be managed, operated and supervised by the ministry’s Maritime Transport Sector. This window was launched in early September, and is currently being promoted in the media, in the context of providing more facilities for foreign visitors.

The Minister of Transport also reviewed a plan of the existing and proposed international yacht marina sites on all Egyptian coasts.

Reda Ismail explained that the single digital window for foreign yachts allows the owner of the yacht or his representative to enter the data of the yacht and passengers, upload the required documents, the date of arrival and the port required to dock, and the entire trip program.

Then, all the data and documents will be automatically sent to the concerned authorities for review, and their approvals are sent to the official window site in the maritime transport sector to issue one approval for the visit program and one invoice for the foreign yacht that is collected electronically through the window.

Furthermore, Rabie reviewed the Suez Canal Authority’s strategy to promote yacht tourism, pointing out that there are three yacht marinas along the course of the canal in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez.

The authority is working under a strategy to develop yacht marinas, where the efficiency of a number of facilities and services has been raised in the Ismailia Marina.

He pointed out that the targeted vision of the development seeks to increase the capacity of the marina from 12 to 60 yachts, and add refuelling, maintenance, and waiting services for long periods, in cooperation with the private sector.