AD Ports teams up with China Harbour Engineering for CMA Terminals Khalifa Port project

They sign an infrastructure deal to develop the first net-zero carbon administration building for the project

Abu Dhabi Ports Group's CMA Terminals Khalifa Port is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025. Photo: AD Ports Group

AD Ports Group, the operator of industrial cities and free zones in Abu Dhabi, has gone into partnership with China Harbour Engineering Company for the development of buildings and topside infrastructure for the upcoming CMA Terminals Khalifa Port.

Announced in September 2021, the new terminal is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025. It will be managed by a joint venture, owned 70 per cent by CMA Terminals, a subsidiary of CMA CGM — a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, and 30 per cent by AD Ports Group.

The agreement with CHEC includes the development of the first net-zero carbon administration building to be constructed for the joint venture. It will also see the development of 28 office and utilities across the terminal, more than one million square metres of yard paving, reefer stacks, STS cranes and access roads.

“We are making positive progress on the development of CMA Terminals Khalifa Port, which will be one of the most modern and innovative terminals in the region upon completion,” Saif Al Mazrouei, chief executive of the ports cluster at AD Ports Group, said.

“Our design practice supports the UAE’s wider targets for building the circular economy, recycling construction and operational waste and using high recycled content materials,” Mr Al Mazrouei said.

Once completed, CMA Terminals Khalifa Port will have an initial capacity of 1.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It will be fully integrated with Etihad Rail and will enhance Khalifa Port’s connectivity and position as a key gateway for the region.

The TEU is an exact unit of measurement used to determine cargo capacity for container ships and terminals.

With fewer than 500 net-zero commercial buildings in the world, AD Ports Group’s first net-zero carbon building will represent a major milestone for CHEC and for the UAE, it said.

It will be one of the company’s first projects to use significant amounts of concrete with recycled content and save the equivalent of 38,721 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide over 30 years.

CHEC will contribute to “the development of what will be one of the most advanced terminals in the region”, Yang Zhiyuan, chief executive of CHEC's Middle East division, said.

“In particular, we will ensure that the design and construction of buildings and topside infrastructure will meet the highest architectural and sustainability standards,” Mr Zhiyuan said.

Earlier this month, AD Ports Group said its third-quarter net profit surged 68 per cent as revenue soared.

Net profit attributable to the owners of the company increased to more than Dh314 million ($86 million) in the three months to the end of September, from the same period a year earlier.

The company’s revenue in the July-September period increased 53 per cent annually to Dh1.47 billion.