Gulftainer set to boost cargo throughput by over 30% in 2013
Gulftainer, the port management and logistics group headquartered in Sharjah, UAE, is set to witness volumes soar in 2013 as Gulftainer continues to expand its global footprint, the Group said in a press release.
As the operator of the largest number of terminals in the Middle East region, Gulftainer stands to benefit from the considerable growth in export cargos from the Region. The rapidly developing petrochemical industries serve as a major factor in offsetting any reduced import volumes.
Gulftainer acquired the 51% stake in GSCCO in June 2013, allowing it to assume the full management of three Saudi terminals, located in Jeddah and Jubail. The Company recently bought the controlling stake in Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company (GSCCO) in Saudi Arabia and it is this new acquisition means that Gulftainer now has a Middle East network that allows access to the Arabian Peninsular from the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf. The geographical scope of Gulftainer’s terminals and their capabilities not only serves the largest container vessels in the world, but also caters for transhipping to East Mediterranean countries, East Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and Upper Gulf destinations.
Jeddah’s NCT has recently undergone significant expansion which will substantially improve the capability of Jeddah Islamic Port. The facility currently consists of 1,654m of quay, 11 cranes, seven of which are super post panamax cranes, with an annual capacity of three million TEUs. Almost 75% of all container traffic to the Kingdom is currently handled through the Port of Jeddah, and it is a major trade gateway for the Kingdom’s container traffic.
Located on the Arabian Gulf, Jubail is home to the development of the largest industrial zone in the world covering 8,000 hectares, comprising petrochemical plants, fertilizer plants, steel works, and an industrial port as well as the world’s largest desalination plant. Jubail Port is one of the largest industrial ports in the world and currently handles 52 million tonnes of cargo per annum, a figure which is expected to grow substantially in the short to medium-term. JCP is equipped with a 1,282m quay, five cranes and has a container handling capacity of 1 million TEU per annum. It is expected that this figure will continue to increase quickly, particularly with the opening of major petrochemical developments in the Jubail Industrial Zone and the planned rail link to Riyadh. GSCCO currently operates 22 commercial berths at the Port, including the open sea tanker terminal.