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The Egygptian government has awarded a concession worth 3.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($584 million) for a liquid bulk terminal at East Port Said seaport, state news agency MENA reports.

The news agency said the concession had been awarded to a consortium including liquid bulk storage operator Oiltanking and Sonker Bunkering Company S.A.E., which is jointly owned by Amiral Holding Group and companies associated with Egyptian government entities.

It said the concession had been awarded on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis for 25 years.

The new facility will be the first liquid bulk terminal in East Port Said seaport located at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal. It will be used for the handling and storage of petroleum and liquid bulk products and the bunkering of ships.

The terminal will be built on 50 hectares of land and will include in Phase 1 approximately 1 million cubic metres of storage capacity and four dedicated deepwater Jetties.

Oiltanking announced last month that it would jointly develop the new liquid bulk storage terminal in East Port Said.

"Oiltanking is confident that in association with Sonker Bunkering Company and the much appreciated support of all institutions involved, the development of this terminal will contribute to the further growth of East Port Said and its future strategic importance as a major petroleum logistics hub in the Eastern Mediterranean," the company said.