Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port handled more than 1mn twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2014.
During the course of last year, Abu Dhabi Ports has reported that 1,137,679 TEU were handled at the container terminal, representing a 26% year-on-year increase over 2013.
Terminal operator, Abu Dhabi Ports, also achieved record increases in general and bulk cargo, handling 12,821,1584 freight tonnes (FT) in 2014, 37% higher than the previous year.
“Khalifa Port has the space and the capacity to allow the business across the Emirate to take advantage of growing global trade opportunities, by increasing their import/export trade while making use of Khalifa Ports’ excellent facilities and industry-leading productivity levels and turnaround times,” commented Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports.
“There are few, if any, ports recording this pace of year-on-year growth anywhere in the world today,” he added.
November of last year also saw Khalifa Port hit the milestone of 2mn TEU since the beginning of its commercial operations on 1 September 2012. December 2014, meanwhile, saw the most containers ever handled at the terminal in one month, with 132,297 TEU.
“2014 has been the busiest year yet for Abu Dhabi Terminals at Khalifa Port Container Terminal, and the fifth straight year that our compound year-on-year growth has risen more than 20%,” said Martijn Van De Linde, CEO of Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT), the port’s manager and operator.
“We successfully increased Khalifa Port Container Terminal’s network to 52 international destinations, and have developed strong relationships with the shipping and logistics community that have made Khalifa Port their hub,” he explained.
Commenting on the growth in general cargo, Al Shamisi concluded: “The volume of general cargo has more than doubled over the last four years. This is directly linked to the size and number of infrastructure and oil and gas projects in the Emirate.”
