Abu Dhabi Ports sees 41% growth between Jan-July 2015

Abu Dhabi Ports has reported a 41 per cent year-on-year increase in volumes at the Khalifa Port Container Terminal during the first seven months of 2015, it revealed on Sunday.

More than 772,000 twenty foot equivalent units/containers were handled between January-July, up from 549,000 TEUs in the same period in 2014.

The company attributed the increase to the rapid growth in polymer exports and transhipment activity across the Gulf.

Chief executive of Abu Dhabi Ports Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi said: “Our ability to handle record loads across the cargo and transportation market has been facilitated by our commitment to implementing operational efficiencies and adopting next-generation technologies.”

Abu Dhabi Ports also reported that general and bulk cargo grew 21 per cent to 8.71 million freight tonnes during the first seven months of the year.

Earlier this year, all roll-on-roll-off operations were transferred to Khalifa Port from Zayed Port in light of the growing market for the automotive sector in the United Arab Emirates.

The transition to Khalifa Port saw volumes increase by 11 per cent. Currently, the port offers a capacity of about 350,000 vehicles a year.

Currently in its first phase, Khalifa Port has a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs and 12 million tons of general cargo. While further phases of development will occur as market demand requires, the port will be able to handle 15 million TEUs and 35 million tons of general cargo per year when fully complete.

At Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad), Abu Dhabi Ports saw a total of 19 agreements signed this year with national and international investors including Schmidt ME Logistics, Bin Ali Safecare Medical, Adearest – Polar, and SIDDCO Group.

To date, around 80 national and international investors have established their production or logistics base at Kizad – nine of these will have completed construction and will be fully operational by the end of this year.