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Abu Dhabi Ports (ADP) has signed a 35-year concession agreement to develop, manage and operate the port of Fujairah in the UAE. The deal provides for ADP to develop 1000m of quay, deepen all existing berths to 16.5 m to increase capacity and allow for the arrival of larger vessels and build around 300,000m2 of additional storage space.
The agreement, which was signed in June this year by Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, chief executive of ADP, and Captain Mousa Murad, general manager of Port of Fujairah, will lead to the creation of Fujairah Terminals, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADP. This new entity will have exclusive rights to enhance existing infrastructure in addition to managing all container, general cargo, ro-ro and cruise ship handling facilities in the port.
As well as carrying out infrastructure works, ADP will also invest in equipping Fujairah with post Panamax ship-to-shore quayside gantry cranes, rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes and new IT systems. Maqta Gateway, another wholly owned subsidiary of ADP, will be engaged to develop a Port Community System that links elements of the Fujairah port community with various departments, facilities and operations.
Commenting on the agreement, Captain Mohammed Juma Al Shamsi said, “This significant investment will see Abu Dhabi Ports share best practices with Port of Fujairah, which is one of the most important economic and commercial ports operating in the UAE, and will further complement services offered at both Khalifa Port and Zayed Port. This agreement will offer clients on the east coast more options, and will also allow the re-export of goods that arrive at Khalifa Port to India, Pakistan and East Africa in addition to receiving general cargo for clients in the northern emirates.”
ADP will start developing the new berths and yard areas in 2018. The additional cranes are due to be operational in 2021.
The Port of Fujairah is the only multi-purpose port on the Eastern seaboard of the United Arab Emirates and is strategically located on the country’s Indian Ocean coast, close to the east west shipping routes. Through the agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports, Fujairah’s capacity is expected to reach 1 million teu and 700,000 tons of general cargo by 2030.
