UAE: Traffic expected to rise at Abu Dhabi ports as projects boom

Record ID: 688713

  • Title: UAE: Traffic expected to rise at Abu Dhabi ports as projects boom
  • Date: 15th April 2014
  • Summary: ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (APRIL 10, 2014) (REUTERS) KHALIFA PORT VARIOUS OF KHALIFA PORT CARGO SHIPS AT KHALIFA PORT VARIOUS OF CARGO BEING UNLOADED FROM SHIP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ABU DHABI PORTS COMPANY, MOHAMED JUMA AL-SHAMISI, SAYING: "We expect a big increase in the year 2014, especially in the last quarter for many reasons." VARIOUS O
  • Embargoed: 30th April 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Arab Emirates
  • Country: United Arab Emirates
  • Topics: Business,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA6J4DLRV1TS8HXQCQKVVB40H4H
  • Story Text: State-backed Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) say they expect a rise in shipping traffic towards the end of the year boosted by a surge in major projects in the oil-rich UAE capital.
    Traffic at Khalifa port is expected to break the one million twenty foot equivalent (TEU) mark to reach around 1.1 million TEU in 2014 while general and bulk cargo traffic will surpass 12 million tonnes in Khalifa and Zayed ports, the chief executive officer of ADPC told Reuters.
    "We expect big increase in the year 2014 especially in the last quarter of 2014 for many reasons," Mohamed Juma al-Shamisi said.
    "The increase in containers of 17 percent, we will get to one million and one hundred containers in the year 2014, as for the cargo we will get to 12 million tons in 2014 in comparison to nearly 10 million tons of last year," he added.
    Container traffic stood at 905,000 TEUs in 2013, a 17 percent rise over the 2012 figure while general and bulk cargo was stable at 9.3 million tonnes.
    Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure, real estate and tourism to diversify its economy.
    Al-Shamisi said the port is also an entry point for tourists visiting the country, and hundreds of thousands have already come through the port.
    "We restructured Zayed port to be able to receive the tourist ships, in the current season of 2013-2014 some 160,000 tourists have entered via Zayed's port," said APDC's CEO.
    A total of 92 cruise vessels called at the port in 2013 and a project is currently underway to construct a permanent structure to receive tourist ships.
    Strategic Abu Dhabi projects in the pipeline include the expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport, the construction of UAE's nuclear power station and the Abu Dhabi Louvre museum.
    ADPC is the owner, operator and developer of Abu Dhabi's maritime infrastructure and industrial zones. It is in charge of all ports in the emirate excluding oil-related and military ports.
    Khalifa Port, built on a man-made island in the Tawelah area, will also benefit from various expansion plans scheduled for industries located in the adjacent Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi.
    Khalifa Port's container terminal currently has an annual capacity of 2.5 million TEU which can be raised to 5 million TEU in the first phase of the port's development. Abu Dhabi's long-term goal is to increase capacity to 15 million TEU and 35 million tonnes by 2030.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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