82.4% surge in Abu Dhabi Ports’ container volume in the first half of 2019

H.E Falah Al Ahbabi: Our performance reflects the strength of our economy and supports the vision of our leadership

• Total cargo handled across all Abu Dhabi Ports is up 10%
• Container volume at Khalifa Port increases 82.4% year-on-year
• Cruise passengers top 320,000 – a rise of more than a third
• Cruise ship visits jump by 38%
• KIZAD now home to more than 500 companies

Abu Dhabi, 22 September, 2019: Abu Dhabi Ports, one of the UAE’s leading proponents of regional trade and investment, today revealed robust operational performance with significant volume growth in the first half of 2019. The company, which operates ports and terminals across the UAE, as well as KIZAD (KIZAD), said its success was driven in part by concession agreements signed with leading maritime firms, such as Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and COSCO SHIPPING Ports (CSP).

The agreements have seen an increase in the number of vessels taking advantage of Khalifa Port’s strategic location and world-class facilities, as well as significant further investment in state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure.

Container volume at Khalifa Port rose from 620,974 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) in H1 2018 to 1,135,021 TEU in H1 2019 – an increase of 82.4%. This growth was fuelled predominantly through the MSC concession agreement, which was signed last year. Abu Dhabi Ports anticipates further growth thanks to completion of the CSP Abu Dhabi Container Terminal, which was built in partnership with COSCO SHIPPING Ports and which began trial operations in Q2 2019 – ahead of the start of full commercial operations in Q4 2019.

Both agreements are part of Abu Dhabi Ports’ five-year strategy to boost the UAE’s trade and investment flows, and drive the diversification of the UAE economy. As a result, Abu Dhabi Ports will be expanding the capacity of Khalifa Port to 9.1 million by 2024. The port is capable of handling the world’s largest vessels with two 21,000 TEU mega-vessels, the COSCO SHIPPING SOLAR and PISCES, having already called at CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal earlier this year.