Full steam ahead at Abu Dhabi ports as cargo shipments swell

Rise in shipments of 37 per cent, according to ADPC.

It seems to be smooth sailing at the capital’s ports.

Cargo shipments at the Musaffah, Khalifa and Zayed Ports surged by 37 per cent in the first half of this year, Abu Dhabi Ports Company said yesterday.

The ports handled 6.4 million tonnes of general cargo, compared with 4.7 million tonnes in the first half of 2013.

“These figures show a strong first half of 2014 and indicate a promising six months ahead,” said Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, the chief executive of ADPC.

As Abu Dhabi’s economy continues to grow and infrastructures are built, the ports are only expected to get busier.

Key projects include the Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi airport, the Louvre and Guggenheim museums and the nuclear power plant in the Western Region.

“The volume of cargo moving through our ports is on the up. We expect that we will handle more than 12 million tonnes by the end of this year, compared to 9.5 million tonnes handled last year,” Mr Shamisi added.

ADPC’s key clients include Emirates Aluminium (Emal), Emirates Steel, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation.

Emal and ADPC have also signed a 10-year logistics agreement, which would result in Emal’s exports of aluminium products jumping from 600,000 tonnes this year to more than 750,000 tonnes from 2015.

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