Limassol port closer to becoming regional hub; 200 cruise ships expected

Port management company DP World Limassol on Wednesday announced that it had one of its best years since taking over as operator in 2017, recording an impressive performance in 2022, with Limassol port’s cruise business and cargo volumes growing significantly compared with 2021.

The company explained that it came closer to its goal of establishing Limassol port as a major cruise destination in the Eastern Mediterranean, processing almost 200,000 passengers and 165 cruise ships in 2022, an increase of 338 per cent and 46 per cent respectively over the previous year.

“Committed to transforming Limassol port into a major trading hub, DP World increased total cargo tonnage by 63 per cent, compared with 2021, handling almost 1 million tonnes,” the company said.

At the same time, the port’s maritime trailer transport (Roll on Roll Off Multi-Purpose) traffic grew by a staggering 162 per cent year-on-year, with the number of trailers handled rising to 67,529.

The terminal moved a total of 22,244 vehicles in 2022, recording a 35 per cent increase compared with 2021.

“Amid a period of uncertainty, our terminal recorded impressive figures last year 2022, bringing Limassol port closer to its goal of becoming a port of choice in the region,” DP World Limassol CEO Nawaf Abdulla said.

“By undertaking a series of targeted investments in equipment, technology and infrastructure, we improved the port’s overall performance and increased our cargo handling capacity, while attracting a number of major cruise lines,” he added.

Abdulla concluded by saying that “the outlook for this year, 2023, is very positive as we expect over 200 cruise ships, while we remain committed to our long-term investment strategy, to ensure continued growth in the terminal operations sector”.

The full details of DP World Limassol’s performance for 2022 can be viewed below: