Khalifa Port expansion on track for completion in first quarter of 2021

Container terminal set to meet its target of 5 million TEUs by the end of 2020

Khalifa Port’s major development of Khalifa Port Logistics, South Quay and Abu Dhabi Terminal is on track for completion. Courtesy of Abu Dhabi Ports.

The expansion of Khalifa Port Logistics, South Quay and Abu Dhabi Terminals is set to be completed next year despite the “challenging economic conditions” triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, Abu Dhabi Ports said yesterday.

Work on 200 metres of quay wall and about 17.5 hectares of land in the first phase of the Khalifa Port Logistics project has been completed before the expected delivery time in the first quarter of next year, Abu Dhabi Ports said.

The first phase of Khalifa Port’s South Quay development is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year and set to be operational in the first quarter of next year.

About 80 per cent of construction work is complete, with 650 metres of quay wall and two berths built and a 3.7ha terminal yard now ready to receive its first shipment.

The expansion of Abu Dhabi Terminals is also under way with the delivery of five new ship-to-shore cranes.

With a lifting capacity of 90 tonnes each, the new cranes have significantly boosted capacity at the terminal and put Khalifa Port Container Terminal on track to meet its target of 5 million Twenty Foot-Equivalent Units by the end of this year.

“We are confident that the ongoing expansion of Khalifa Port will significantly enhance our operational and cargo-handling capabilities,” said Saif Al Mazrouei, head of the Ports Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports.

Abu Dhabi is diversifying its economy amid a push to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons, boost foreign investment, improve employment and promote trade through the development of its ports.

The UAE was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the West Asia region from 2018 to 2019.

The country attracted about $14 billion (Dh51bn) in investment last year, up from $10.3bn in 2018, according to the World Investment Report 2020 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

The addition of land plots with adjacent quay wall and deep water access at Khalifa Port provides new opportunities for the port’s customers, Abu Dhabi Ports said.

Industrial producers that require land near Khalifa Port Industrial Zone stand to benefit. Cargo owners that wish to import, export and trans-ship via Khalifa Port are among potential investors for the plots.

For example, Arabian Chemical Terminals recently signed a 50-year agreement to establish the first commercial bulk liquid and gas storage terminal at Khalifa Port that will be located on a plot with a direct deepwater quay access of 16 metres within the newly developed Khalifa Ports Logistics area.

The project is under way, with the front-end engineering design contract having been awarded in May.