Abu Dhabi Ports Company is celebrating after winning two awards at the prestigious Big Project and BGreen magazine Awards ceremony held at the Armani Hotel, Dubai, in the presence of Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, a member of the ruling family of the Emirate of Ajman.
Four hundred industry colleagues saw ADPC win the Outstanding Development of the Year Award, followed by the Energy Efficiency Project of the Year Award. Both green prizes were given for ADPC’s ongoing work in constructing Khalifa Port and Kizad (Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi) both of which open in Q4, next year. Latest figures show that the megaproject at Taweelah – between Abu Dhabi and Dubai cities – is firmly on schedule, currently 82.7% complete.
The Outstanding Development of the Year Award centred on the ongoing construction of Khalifa Port, and the company’s role in protecting the environment. Attention focused on the construction of the AED 880 million (USD 240 million) environmental protection breakwater, built to protect the precious Ras Ghanada coral reef, adjacent to the port. The Award was received by ADPC’s Waseem Freij and Brian Sadler.
The Energy Efficiency Award was given for the IT department’s work in using best green practice, especially in providing virtualization services, as it links ADPC HQ in Abu Dhabi to the Taweelah site. The switchover to a virtual infrastructure means that considerable financial and energy savings are being made. The number of physical servers, for instance, has dropped from sixty to only five. ADPC has provided a virtual and green Data Centre, reducing the power consumption by 40%.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, December 8, 2011; Image: ADPC