Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), the company which manages commercial ports and industrial zones in Abu Dhabi, has announced a significant growth in RORO (roll-on roll-off) movement at the Emirates ports in 2012
The company reported growth across all key traffic categories including containers, vessels and general bulk and cargo.
Compared to 2011, RORO saw the highest increase in growth in 2012, with movements up significantly from 56,510 units to 79,906 units, an increase of 41.4 per cent, while marine activity saw a 13.8 per cent increase, up from 26,899 to 30,618 vessel calls.
Tony Douglas, CEO of ADPC, said, ?The 2012 traffic figures clearly demonstrate that Abu Dhabi ports continue to offer a robust platform for growth in key shipment areas?.
Despite the global economic slump in recent years, Abu Dhabi ports saw a 2.5 per cent rise in container handling, up from 767,713 to 787,048 TEUs (standard 20-foot equivalent container unit), for the 12-month period.
Following the transfer of all container traffic from Zayed Port, Khalifa Port, which commenced operations on 1 September 2012, now handles all container shipments in to and out of Abu Dhabi.
Mohamed Al Shamisi, executive vice-president of ports at ADPC, commented, ?The transfer of all container traffic to Khalifa Port from Zayed Port was achieved in three months ? that?s less than half the time that is expected, by industry standards, as these things can typically take from six to 12 months.
"This, of course, minimised any disruption to the container handling business in to Abu Dhabi and actually allowed for a maintained and steady growth in this area of the business,? he added.
ADPC added that it expects the number of containers handled by Khalifa Port to surpass one million TEUs per annum later in 2013.
