UAE's AD Ports posts record annual cargo volume for 2021 amid container throughput uptick

The UAE's AD Ports Group, the operator of Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, has posted a record annual volume of general cargo and a modest uptick in container throughput in 2021 from a year earlier amid the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

General cargo volumes surged 50% to 45 million mt in 2021, "reflecting the wider economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," AD Ports said in a Feb. 8 statement.

Container traffic increased 6.3% to 3.4 million TEUs over the same period, "despite the ongoing supply constraints faced in the global shipping and container market," it added.

In 2021, AD Ports signed a concession agreement with CMA CGM Group to set up a new terminal in Khalifa Port and also inked a preliminary agreement with the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) to explore potential opportunities in the transportation and maritime sectors.

AD Ports operates 11 ports and terminals mainly in the UAE and Guinea.

Fujairah expansion

Deliveries have begun on the Fujairah Terminal expansion by AD Ports to offer container, general cargo and cruise operations on the UAE's east coast, and they are in use, the AD Ports director of ports commercial said Feb. 1.

The Dirham 1 billion ($272 million) investment adds container capacity of 720,000 TEUs and general cargo capacity of 1.3 million mt, Julian Skyrme told reporters on the sidelines of the Breakbulk Middle East conference in Dubai. "It's already delivered, it's in use now," he said.

The Middle East's biggest port is Jebel Ali in Dubai with a container capacity of 19.3 million TEUs.

Jebel Ali Port handled 13.7 million TEUs in 2021, up 1.9% year on year.