Abu Dhabi Ports announced today the signing of a container terminal concession agreement with COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited - Abu Dhabi (CSPL SPV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited, one of the leading container terminal operators in the world and a subsidiary of China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited.
COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited will operate a container terminal with a draft depth of 18 metres, with 1200 metres of quay wall and adjacent land. The first 800 metres of the quay length (and the corresponding Concession Area) is expected to commence operations in H1 2018 and the later 400 metres (and the corresponding Expanded Concession Area) is expected to commence operations in 2020. Once the expansion areas are occupied, the Concession Area will span an area of approximately 70 hectares with 3 berths, which will add 2.4 million TEUs a year to the Port’s existing capacity of 2.5 million TEUs. The agreement includes the option for a further 600 metre of quay length in the future to allow for anticipated volume growth, the nominal annual handling capacity will increase to 3.5 million TEUs when all phases are complete, creating a new overall annual capacity of up to 6 million TEUs.
The global port operator giant is establishing a joint venture company in 2016 to operate the new Khalifa Port Container Terminal 2 in Khalifa Port, one of the world’s fastest growing container ports and a leading hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. As per the agreement, the joint venture company will be entitled concession rights of Khalifa Port Container Terminal 2 for a span of 35 years, with a renewable period of 5 additional years. CSPL SPV will have the controlling stake in the joint venture company.
Besides Khalifa Port, COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited operates a global network of 46 terminals and 169 berths across mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Belgium and the United States . Building on COSCO SHIPPING Ports’ successful operations at Khalifa Port, the agreement aims to further boost economic ties and bilateral trade between the two countries.
Khalifa Port Container Terminal 2 is located along the “Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” and the shipping hub of West Asia region. Khalifa Port, is the major container gateway port of Abu Dhabi and is strategically situated between Abu Dhabi and Dubai with excellent hinterland connections and geographic location.
The expansion of the quay wall is part of the broader developments at the Khalifa Port, which include an innovative new terminal booking, tracking and transaction system for sea and land based users, advanced RoRo facilities, new liner calls, the development of a regional liner hub and transhipment business to South Asia, as well as the addition of approximately 14.5 million square metres now leased in the adjacent Khalifa Industrial Zone (KIZAD).
Such developments and agreements continue to take Abu Dhabi Ports to the next level as a maritime trade gateway to the world’s fastest growing economies.