Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port 2014 Container Volumes Grow 26%

Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port, built on a man-made island, posted 26 per cent year-on-year growth in container volumes after it attracted more shipping lines, its operator said on Sunday.

Khalifa port handled 1.13 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit containers) in 2014, representing growth of 26 per cent, Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT) said in a statement.

The new Khalifa port began operations in late 2012 to take over container traffic from the existing Mina Zayed Port.

ADT is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Ports, Mubadala and Mubadala Infrastructure Partners.

Four new shipping lines began services to Khalifa Port in 2014, taking the total to 20 lines serving 52 destinations.

“2014 has been the busiest year at Khalifa Port Container Terminal and the fifth straight year that our compound year-on-year growth has risen more than 20 percent,” said Martijn van de Linde, CEO of ADT.

Khalifa Port’s container terminal currently has an annual capacity of 2.5 million TEUs. This can be raised to 5 million TEUs, depending on demand over the next few years.

Abu Dhabi has said its long-term goal is to increase it to 15 million by 2030, depending on demand.