Abu Dhabi Ports to develop liquid bulk storage at Khalifa Port

The first stage comprising 44 storage tanks is to be commissioned by the second quarter of 2022

The new facilities will handle a number of liquid bulk products and would offer customers the opportunity to reduce the costs of outsourcing their liquid and gas expenditure. Khushnum Bhandari for TheShow more

Abu Dhabi Ports signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia-based Arabian Chemical Terminals to develop a greenfield commercial bulk liquids storage terminal at Khalifa Port.

The storage terminal will be the first to handle liquid products and gas at the deepwater port.

"The project will benefit existing customers and attract new customers in the region seeking liquid bulk storage," the company said in a statement.

The project will be located between Abu Dhabi and the emirate's western region of Ruwais and will allow "multi-modal connectivity with access to the sea" as well as to the UAE's road infrastructure and planned GCC railways network, said Rakan Alireza, managing director of Arabian Chemical Terminals.

The bulk liquid terminal will be developed on a 50,000 square metre plot of land adjacent to a 16 metre deepwater quay access. The development will have the option to use an additional 150,000 square metres of land.

The project will be completed in two phases, with the first stage - comprising 44 storage tanks set for completion in the second half of 2022. The storage tanks will have capacities of 1,250 and 3,000 tonnes each.

The second phase of expansion at the terminal will comprise a larger number of industrial storage tanks and spheres, Abu Dhabi Ports said.

The facilities will handle a number of liquid bulk products and would offer customers the opportunity to reduce the costs of outsourcing their liquid and gas expenditure, the company added.

“Providing technology-rich, end-to-end logistics solutions for customers of all sizes and industries is at the core of Abu Dhabi Ports’ diversification strategy," said Abu Dhabi Ports chief executive Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi.

Abu Dhabi Ports last month announced plans to develop a Dh100 million cruise jetty at the Sir Bani Yas cruise beach to add more capacity to handle cruise passengers.

The scheme, set for completion by the fourth quarter of 2020, will accommodate two vessels and provide 5,000 passengers with direct access to embark and disembark "at an accelerated rate" from the southeast of the Sir Bani Yas Island, the company said.

Abu Dhabi Ports operates the Zayed and Khalifa Ports as well as the associated Kizad free zone. The company plans to invest Dh3.8 billion by 2021 to boost capacity at the Khalifa Port.