Finishing Khalifa Port’s First Phase by the End of 2012

Phase one of Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port -that worth Dh26.2 billion- will be completed by the end of this year.

Mohammad Al Shamsi, Vice-President of Ports Operations at Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), said the second phase of the project will begin in 2013, as no exact date was given.

“About 96 per cent of Phase I of Khalifa Port has been completed so far. Once completed, the port will add 2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containerized and 12 million tones of general cargo capacity,” said Al Shamsi.

Speaking at the launch of the agenda for 2nd World Ports and Trade Summit which will be held in Abu Dhabi from today to Wednesday, Al Shamsi said that the area of phase one will be 52 square kilometers and cost Dh26.2 billion.

Al Shamsi remarked that port activities in the Gulf did not slow down over the past two years.

“Seaport activities in Abu Dhabi increased in 2011 by 47 per cent compared to 2010. More than 767,000 containers were handled in 2010 compared to 800,000 containers in 2011,” he said.

Michael Vertigans, vice-president of corporate communications at ADPC, said that Khalifa Port would stand out from the UAE’s other ports, as Gulf news stated.

Vertigans added “Khalifa Port is different from “Mina Zayed” and from “Jebel Ali Port”. Zayed Port cannot be expanded more and the containers coming to Zayed Port will be transferred to Khalifa Port once opened. Jebel Ali Port is for commercial purposes and for re-export businesses while Khalifa Port is for industrial purposes,”