Beirut Port Terminal to Double Capacity Under $100M CMA CGM Plan
The French shipping group will enlarge the container terminal from 45 to 80 hectares over about 18 months, lifting annual capacity to 2.8 million TEUs.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
CMA CGM has committed $100 million to the container terminal at the Port of Beirut, a project that would more than double the facility's yearly throughput to 2.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units. The terminal already runs at its full 1.2 million TEU capacity, according to a statement issued Friday.
Bigger footprint, 18-month build
The terminal's footprint goes from 45 hectares to 80. Work is expected to run about 18 months. Most of the added space goes to container stacking, with new infrastructure and equipment intended to keep cargo moving and ease congestion.
Construction covers a quay for feeder vessels served by two mobile cranes, a customs inspection zone and two X-ray scanners. The plan also adds parking and staging areas and a heavy-haul bridge to improve traffic flow.
CMA CGM will pay for and design the expansion, handle procurement and supervise the works, and carry out the project itself. Equipment includes hybrid and energy-efficient cargo-handling machinery, alongside reorganised storage areas and an automated gate complex. The stated aims are better efficiency, lower energy use and a smaller environmental footprint for the terminal.
Ceremony and concession
The foundation stone was laid Friday in the presence of Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny, Port of Beirut Chairman and General Manager Marwan Naffi and CMA CGM Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saadé.
CMA Terminals has run, operated and maintained the Beirut container terminal since March 2022, under a 10-year concession granted through an international public tender.
The port is trying to regain its standing as a main gateway for Lebanese trade and to rebuild links to regional and global markets. CMA CGM pointed to the site's position in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying it is "well positioned to support the development of emerging logistics corridors across the region."
well positioned to support the development of emerging logistics corridors across the region.
Saadé said the money would help establish the terminal as a regional hub and showed the group's "long-term commitment to Lebanon" and its confidence in the country's future.
Difficult market conditions
The announcement lands in a rough stretch for shipping. Vessel overcapacity and weaker freight demand are weighing on rates. The war involving Iran has disrupted regional routes and added uncertainty across the Middle East.
CMA CGM has kept building out terminals, logistics and infrastructure in markets worldwide regardless, Beirut included. Its involvement there is a long-term one.
