Port profile

Alexandria Port Logistics

Alexandria is Egypt's historic principal seaport and its main Mediterranean gateway for containerised and general cargo. We move commercial and industrial consignments across its quays and on into Cairo and the Nile Delta.

Containers and general cargoSteel, timber and dry bulkCustoms clearance coordinationRoad delivery to Cairo and the Delta

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Egypt's first harbour

Eastern and Western Harbours plus the El Dekheila basin.

Widest commodity range

Boxes, breakbulk, steel coil, timber and grain.

Declaration lodged locally

We instruct the licensed Egyptian broker on your file.

Straight into the market

Desert road and agricultural road to Cairo.

Port profile

Alexandria Port: Egypt's principal Mediterranean gateway

Alexandria Port is Egypt's oldest working commercial harbour and its principal Mediterranean gateway, sitting on the coast at the western edge of the Nile Delta. The harbour is built into the city itself: the Eastern Harbour and the Western Harbour sit behind the corniche, and the same port authority also runs El Dekheila, the newer basin a short distance down the coast to the west.

Between those basins Alexandria covers the whole commercial range that Egypt imports and exports — container terminals, general-cargo berths, grain and dry-bulk facilities, and the steel quays that serve the iron and steel industry established beside El Dekheila. For an Egyptian importer, Alexandria is the default arrival point unless a specific commercial reason sends the shipment to Damietta, Port Said or Ain Sokhna instead.

Mediterranean coast, western edge of the Nile Delta
Eastern and Western Harbours inside the city
El Dekheila basin under the same port authority
Container, general-cargo, grain and steel berths

Cargo character

What moves through Alexandria

Alexandria handles the widest commodity range of any Egyptian port. Containerised manufactured goods dominate the boxes: production machinery and spare parts, electrical equipment, industrial chemicals in drums and IBCs, packaging materials, raw textiles and finished goods for the Egyptian retail chain.

Alongside the boxes, the general-cargo berths take steel coil, plate and long products, sawn timber, paper reels and crated machinery too large for a container. Grain and other dry bulks discharge over the bulk quays for the mills that sit close to the port. Every consignment we accept here is commercial or industrial freight moving against a commercial invoice, whether it travels as LCL, as a full container, or as project cargo.

Containerised machinery, parts and industrial equipment
Steel coil, plate and long products
Sawn timber, paper reels and packaging materials
Dry bulk for the mills beside the port

Hinterland

The market Alexandria feeds

Alexandria's hinterland is the deepest industrial and consumer market in Egypt, and that proximity is the reason importers keep choosing it. Greater Cairo and its satellite industrial cities take a large share of the containers landed here, and the Delta governorates take most of the rest: the textile mills of Gharbia, the food and agricultural processors of Beheira and Kafr El Sheikh, and the engineering workshops around Tanta and Mahalla.

Two road corridors run from the port to the capital, the desert road and the older agricultural road, so a released container can reach a Cairo consignee inside the same working day when the file is clean. Because the market is close and demand is continuous, importers use Alexandria for repeat replenishment programmes rather than one-off moves, and we plan road delivery as a standing schedule instead of a series of separate bookings.

Greater Cairo and its satellite industrial cities
Gharbia and the Delta textile belt
Beheira and Kafr El Sheikh food processing
Desert road and agricultural road to the capital

Working practice

Access and discipline at a city-bound port

Alexandria works under city constraints, and planning around them separates a smooth import from an expensive one. The port is enclosed by the city, so yard space is finite and every truck movement runs through urban streets under gate hours that decide when a container can actually leave.

Storage and demurrage clocks start quickly for exactly that reason: a working harbour with no room to spare does not absorb other people's delay. We therefore front-load the paperwork. The bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and any product-specific approval are checked against the manifest before the vessel berths, so the clearance file opens on arrival rather than after it. Heavy and oversized pieces are routed to a berth where both the lift and the road exit suit the piece.

Gate hours shape truck access
Finite yard space and early storage clocks
Document file checked before berthing
Oversized pieces routed to a suitable berth

Our role

What MIDTRANS does at Alexandria

We act as the forwarder and the coordinator behind your cargo at Alexandria. We book ocean space at origin, control the transport documents, instruct the licensed Egyptian customs broker who lodges the declaration, attend the customs examination when one is called, and arrange the truck that carries the goods to the consignee.

For part-load cargo we arrange deconsolidation and cross-stuffing so each consignee receives only their own goods, and warehousing when the delivery point is not ready. For breakbulk and heavy lift we settle the lifting plan, the securing and the road route before the vessel arrives. Midtrans Shipping And Services is headquartered in Dubai, with offices in Jebel Ali, Damascus, Tartous and Latakia and a partner office in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Egypt is one of our core markets; at Alexandria we work through appointed local partners and licensed brokers rather than an owned terminal.

Cargo arriving from the Gulf starts on the UAE to Egypt lane, and Egyptian exports move the other way on the Egypt to UAE lane. Egyptian import formalities are covered on our Egypt customs clearance page.

Ocean booking and document control
Licensed broker instructed and examination attended
Deconsolidation, cross-stuffing and storage
Lifting and road plan agreed before arrival

FAQ

Alexandria Port questions we answer daily

Direct answers on Alexandria's role, its basins, clearance and inland delivery for commercial and industrial cargo.

Which Egyptian port should I use for cargo going to Cairo?

Alexandria is the usual arrival port for cargo destined for Cairo and the Nile Delta, because it carries the widest range of container and general-cargo services and sits on the two main road corridors to the capital. Ain Sokhna is the better choice when the cargo comes from the Gulf or the Red Sea, since it reaches Cairo without a Suez Canal transit.

What is the difference between Alexandria Port and El Dekheila?

El Dekheila is a separate basin west of the main Alexandria harbour, operated under the same Alexandria Port Authority. It carries the heavier trades such as steel and dry bulk, while the Eastern and Western Harbours inside the city handle containers, general cargo and short-sea services.

Can MIDTRANS clear customs at Alexandria?

Yes. We instruct a licensed Egyptian customs broker who lodges the declaration at Alexandria, we prepare and check the document file before the vessel berths, and we attend the customs examination when one is called. Classification, duty rates and inspection outcomes are decided by the Egyptian Customs Authority.

What cargo does MIDTRANS handle through Alexandria?

We handle commercial and industrial freight only: containerised manufactured goods, production machinery and spare parts, industrial raw materials, steel, timber, packaging and project pieces. Every consignment moves against a commercial invoice between businesses.

How does a container get from Alexandria to a factory in Cairo?

Once customs releases the container we move it by road, using the desert road or the agricultural road according to the delivery point and the trailer type. The box can be delivered to the consignee for unstuffing on site, with the empty returned to the nominated depot in Alexandria.

Which documents are checked before the vessel berths at Alexandria?

The bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and any product-specific approval are checked against the manifest before arrival, so the clearance file opens when the ship berths. Alexandria is a city harbour with finite yard space and gate hours, and storage and demurrage start quickly, so a file still being corrected after discharge costs money.

Next step

Send us the Alexandria shipment and we will open the file

Give us the commodity, the packing, the incoterm and the delivery point in Cairo or the Delta. We book the space, brief the broker and set the truck.

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Rates and transit times are indicative and confirmed at booking.

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