ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port is accelerating its expansion of capacity in order to keep pace with rapidly growing demand. The port announced an ambitious plan to build one kilometer (0.62 miles) of new quay wall, and to deepen its main access channel and turning basin to 18 meters (59 feet) from the current depth of 16 meters. The new quay wall also will help add 600,000 square meters of yard space for cargo handling operations at the harbor.
“These measures will ensure the port can accommodate anticipated growth in the short to medium term and handle the world’s largest ships, increasing the competitiveness of the Emirate as a logistics and maritime hub while also serving key industries across the United Arab Emirates,” port owner Abu Dhabi Ports said in a statement.
Kicking off its new phase of expansion, Abu Dhabi Ports this week signed a contract with National Marine Dredging Company, under which NMDC will shortly start preparatory dredging works and use those dredged materials for the quay wall and yard construction. The entire project is scheduled for completion by mid-2018, according to the release.
The expansion follows on the heels of Khalifa booking solid all-round growth in the first quarter through the end of March. Statistics released by Abu Dhbai Ports show Khalifa’s first-quarter roll-on, roll-off volume increased 31 percent; general and bulk cargoes were up 13 percent; and container traffic was up 5 percent to 316,996 twenty-foot-equivalent units from 302,151 TEUs in the same quarter in 2015. In just over three years of operation, Khalifa has emerged as a major transshipment gateway for the Middle East. Currently, the port can handle 2.5 million TEUs of containerized traffic and 12 million tons of general cargo per year, which will go up to 15 million TEUs and 35 million tons, respectively, when fully built-out.
