French liner CMA CGM is investing $100m in a major expansion of Beirut’s container terminal that is intended to lift annual capacity from about 1.3m TEU to 3m TEU by 2028, according to a Port of Beirut statement.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held on 10 September, attended by Franco-Lebanese CMA CGM chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saadé and Port of Beirut chairman and director general Marwan Naffi.
The project is the third and largest expansion phase in the terminal’s development. It will increase the facility’s footprint from 45 hectares to more than 75 hectares.
The expansion includes a new berth, mobile cranes, additional storage areas, a new automated gate system, a customs inspection area with two scanners and new hybrid cargo-handling equipment. Construction is expected to take 16 to 18 months.
The terminal’s existing facilities include Berth 16, with about 1.1 km of quay, a draught of more than 16.5 metres and 16 ship-to-shore cranes. Beirut handled about 950,000 TEU in 2025 and expects throughput to exceed 1m TEU in 2026. The additional capacity is aimed at increasing transit and transshipment volumes and handling more regional container traffic.
Improved inland connections are also under consideration, including a possible rail and tunnel link between the port and Lebanon’s Bekaa region.
CMA Terminals has operated the Beirut container terminal under a 10-year concession since March 2022. A previous $33m investment programme covered rehabilitation and modernisation of the facility.
CMA CGM is a privately held French shipping and logistics group headquartered in Marseille. Its activities include container shipping, logistics and port terminal operations.
CMA Terminals is a wholly owned subsidiary of CMA CGM focused on the management, operation and development of container terminals.