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Abu Dhabi Ports has marked the official commencement of operations of Fujairah Terminals on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this year, the organisation signed a 35-year concession agreement with the Port of Fujairah, under which Fujairah Terminals, a new operational division, wholly owned by Abu Dhabi Ports, was established. In addition, over AED 1 billion has been ear-marked for investment in handling equipment, infrastructure and superstructure.
Commenting at this milestone occasion, Abdulkareem Al Masabi, Executive Vice President, Operations-Ports, at Abu Dhabi Ports said: “We are here because our ambition is to replicate the same growth we have experienced and driven at Khalifa and Zayed Ports at Fujairah Terminals. The Port is already one of the most important economic and commercial ports operating in the UAE and we are confident we are soon to witness a significant growth in the Port of Fujairah.”
Plans include the development of a new container terminal at Fujairah Port with deeper draft berths, allowing larger vessels to enter the port. The Port will also be equipped with new, more advanced container equipment as well as the latest IT systems.
Since the signing of the concession agreement, Fujairah Terminals has already witnessed several successes. On the sideline of the event that signalled the start of operations, it was announced that Perma Pipe Middle East, a manufacturer of pre-insulated piping and leak detection systems for district heating and cooling, has signed an MOU with Fujairah Terminals with the aim of receiving logistics support from the facility. Fathi Elgendy, Senior Vice President, Middle East and Africa, at Perma Pipe Middle East, commented. “By choosing to utilise the port in Fujairah for our logistics we will be benefitting from increased time efficiency, cost reduction and “a convenient location only 2 kilometres from our offices.”
A day before the official opening event, Fujairah Terminals also welcomed the largest container vessel to call at the port, the 5500 teu Emirates Hana. Even bigger container vessels are expected once dredging the access channels and berths to -16.5 metres draft has been completed. To facilitate the handling of larger container vessels Fujairah Terminals is also set to order a number of post-Panamax quayside gantry cranes and RTG stacking cranes. The upgrade of the existing berths and building of new landside storage yards is scheduled to commence in 2018. Meanwhile, Maqta Gateway, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, has been engaged to develop a Port Community System that links port communities with various departments, facilities and operations.
