COSCO SHIPPING Ports and Abu Dhabi Ports have inaugurated CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal at Khalifa Port, aiming to position Abu Dhabi as the regional hub for COSCO?s global network of 36 ports and connecting the emirate to the major trade hubs along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
The deepwater, semi-automated container terminal includes the largest Container Freight Station (CFS) in the Middle East, covering 275,000 sq m, providing facilities for full and partial bonded container shipments, container packing services, short-term warehousing for de-consolidated cargo as well as easy connectivity with container terminals in Khalifa Port.
The partnership with COSCO SHIPPING Ports is part of a five-year strategy by Abu Dhabi Ports which is aimed at strengthening the maritime sector in Abu Dhabi and driving economic diversification, in line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, by increasing regional trade and attracting foreign direct investment.
Abu Dhabi Ports has earmarked US$2.72bn in investment that is set to increase capacity at Khalifa Port from the current five million TEU to 9.1 million TEU, which also includes boosting capacity at Terminal 1 to more than five million TEU.
The CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal has a design capacity of 2.5 million TEU and will begin with a handling capacity of 1.5 million TEU, with 1200 metres of quay. The water depth of the terminal is 16.5 metres, allowing it to accommodate mega-vessels typically carrying in excess of 20,000 TEU.
At the inauguration, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, commented that the initiative is in line with the UAE?s aim to developing strategic partnerships with the international community to ensure sustainable development across a number of sectors including industry, trade, services and logistics.
He Jianzhong, deputy minister of Ministry of Transport of China, said, ?CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal is the latest major achievement from China and UAE?s joint efforts to implement ?the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road? in ports and shipping industry. CSP and Abu Dhabi Ports will continue to cooperate and increase capacity of Abu Dhabi Khalifa Port to make it a container gateway port and an important hub port in the Middle East in the near future, with an aim to better serve trade and economic development, as well as local community and people.?
Zhang Wei, vice-chairman and managing director of CSP, added, ?We are launching this semi-automatic terminal to serve vessels of all sizes and to help ensure a promising future for this region. CSP Abu Dhabi terminal will be equipped with value-added services such as feeder service network and easy connectivity with container terminals in Khalifa Port. It?s our broader strategy to develop Abu Dhabi as a regional logistics and trade hub and link it with industrial free zones to expand and diversify the economy. Backed by our parent company, we will harness our unparalleled strengths to turn Abu Dhabi into a regional hub and a competitive shipping service centre.?
The new terminal is expected to ease the way for companies seeking to establish, expand or enhance their trade by using local manufacturing, warehousing or logistics operations within Abu Dhabi and, through them, service regional, Middle Eastern, African and international markets.
In addition to attracting investors from Eastern Asia, it will increase Khalifa Port?s competitiveness and act as a catalyst for investment by foreign companies to set up in the free zone of Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), the region's largest industrial, manufacturing and logistics hub and free zone.
