UAE's AD Ports posts 68% jump in cargo volume as containers also climb

The UAE's AD Ports, the operator of Khalifa Port in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, recorded a 68% year-on-year growth in cargo volumes in the first nine months of 2021 while container throughput grew slightly.

General cargo volume rose to 37 million mt in January to September from 22 million mt a year earlier, thanks to a wider global recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, although some supply chain issues remain, the company said in a Nov. 13 statement.

Container throughput grew to 2.47 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the 2021 period from 2.42 million TEUs a year earlier, "despite the ongoing supply constraints faced in the global shipping and container market", AD Ports said.

In 2021, AD Ports signed a concession agreement with CMA CGM Group to set up a new terminal in Khalifa Port and it 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.

The Middle East's biggest port is in Jebel Ali in Dubai with a container capacity of over 19 million TEU.

Jebel Ali Port handled 3.4 million TEU in the third quarter of 2021, up 0.6% year-on-year.