UAE on track to raise Khalifa port's container capacity by 50% in 2020

Dubai — Abu Dhabi Ports, the UAE's second-biggest port operator, is on track to boost the annual container capacity of flagship Khalifa port by 50% to 7.5 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) by year-end, it said Sept. 12, as the oil-rich capital seeks to attract more cargo.

Current capacity is 5 million TEUs, with 2.5 million at Abu Dhabi Terminals, a unit of Abu Dhabi Ports, and the other 2.5 million at the CSP Terminal, which is owned by China's COSCO SHIPPING Ports. ADT will expand its part to 5 million TEUs, AD Ports said.

"The Khalifa port expansion, announced in December 2019, aims to attract new business and significantly boost capacity in line with evolving customer expectations, and has progressed significantly since its inception despite the challenging economic conditions presented by the global pandemic," it said in the statement. "Upon completion, the project is expected to substantially increase handling volumes by providing additional deep-water access and enhanced infrastructure."

The CSP Terminal commenced operations in 2019 and has an annual capacity of 2.5 million TEUs.

Five-year goal

Khalifa could reach capacity of 9 million TEUs in five years, from expansions at ADT, AD Ports said.

Khalifa port also has the capacity to handle 12 million mt/year of general cargo.

Abu Dhabi Ports owns and manages a total of 11 ports and terminals in the UAE, including a facility in the eastern emirate of Fujairah, and in Guinea, where the UAE's Emirates Global Aluminum has a bauxite mine and associated export infrastructure.

The biggest port operator in the UAE is DP World, which owns three ports and terminals, including the one in Jebel Ali, the largest in the Middle East with a handling capacity of 22.4 million TEUs.