APM Terminals Bahrain has opened its truck gates at Bahrain Gateway at Khalifa bin Salman Port, offering ocean carriers new ways to optimise their Upper Gulf route network to serve the growing regional market.
The facility features four new post-Panamax cranes with an eighteen-stack outreach, 1,800 metres of quay wall and a channel depth of 12.8 metres. Channel dredging is ongoing and will reach 14 metres this year and 15 metres in early-2010 to match the 15 metre draft alongside and in the turning basin.
APM Terminals Bahrain is transitioning between the old port of Mina Salman and Khalifa Bin Salman Port. Both ports will be operational for one month during the phase-out of Mina Salman.
According to Steen Davidsen, managing director of APM Terminals Bahrain, the Bahrain government's vision to create a port with the growth capacity to serve Bahrain's global aspirations has become a reality.
"With this port, Bahrain is clearly establishing itself as the ideal port hub for the Upper Gulf markets of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Northern Iran, Kuwait and Qatar," said Davidsen. "These next few weeks will be a busy time for everyone and the entire team at APM Terminals Bahrain is focused on managing a smooth transition to the new port."
The existing infrastructure - including Bahrain International Airport and King Fahad Causeway to Saudi - and the planned construction of the causeway linking Bahrain to Qatar provide an excellent transport network to reinforce Bahrain's strategic location at the heart of the Gulf. Furthermore, adjacent to new port is the Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ), which is the Middle East's first multi-modal logistics hub focusing on re-export and value adding activities.
The first container vessel is scheduled to call at Khalifa Bin Salman Port on April 15th. For the first two weeks, containers entering Khalifa Bin Salman Port will be empty containers and export containers booked to load on container vessels after April 15th. Mina Salman will continue to receive aluminium, containers and general cargo up to the last vessel call.
The facility features four new post-Panamax cranes with an eighteen-stack outreach, 1,800 metres of quay wall and a channel depth of 12.8 metres. Channel dredging is ongoing and will reach 14 metres this year and 15 metres in early-2010 to match the 15 metre draft alongside and in the turning basin.
APM Terminals Bahrain is transitioning between the old port of Mina Salman and Khalifa Bin Salman Port. Both ports will be operational for one month during the phase-out of Mina Salman.
According to Steen Davidsen, managing director of APM Terminals Bahrain, the Bahrain government's vision to create a port with the growth capacity to serve Bahrain's global aspirations has become a reality.
"With this port, Bahrain is clearly establishing itself as the ideal port hub for the Upper Gulf markets of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Northern Iran, Kuwait and Qatar," said Davidsen. "These next few weeks will be a busy time for everyone and the entire team at APM Terminals Bahrain is focused on managing a smooth transition to the new port."
The existing infrastructure - including Bahrain International Airport and King Fahad Causeway to Saudi - and the planned construction of the causeway linking Bahrain to Qatar provide an excellent transport network to reinforce Bahrain's strategic location at the heart of the Gulf. Furthermore, adjacent to new port is the Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ), which is the Middle East's first multi-modal logistics hub focusing on re-export and value adding activities.
The first container vessel is scheduled to call at Khalifa Bin Salman Port on April 15th. For the first two weeks, containers entering Khalifa Bin Salman Port will be empty containers and export containers booked to load on container vessels after April 15th. Mina Salman will continue to receive aluminium, containers and general cargo up to the last vessel call.