Commercial operations at Abu Dhabi Ports’ Fujairah Terminals, located on the East coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were officially kickstarted on Saturday, September 23.
Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi Ports signed a 35-year concession agreement with the Port of Fujairah, under which Fujairah Terminals, a new operational arm wholly owned by Abu Dhabi Ports, was established with over AED 1 billion (USD 272 million) earmarked for investment in equipment, and infra and superstructure.
“We are here because our ambition is to replicate the same growth we have experienced and driven at Khalifa and Zayed Ports to 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, in addition to a boost to vital industry sectors such as steel,” AbdulKareem Al Masabi, Executive Vice President-Ports at Abu Dhabi Ports, said while speaking on the occasion.
“The opening of Fujairah Terminals today is the culmination of the concession agreement, which included the development of the ports infrastructure, in addition to the establishment of a new container terminal at Fujairah Port with deep berths, allowing larger vessels to enter the port. The port will also be equipped with new and advanced equipment as well as the latest IT systems in line with the highest standards of precision, safety, and speed,” Captain Mousa Murad, General Manager of Port of Fujairah, said.
Since the concession agreement, Fujairah Terminals has signed an MOU with Perma Pipe Middle East, a manufacturer of pre-insulated piping and leak detection systems for district heating and cooling, with the aim of receiving all the necessary logistics support from the terminal facility to streamline their business.
In August, Fujairah Terminals welcomed its first vessel call under Abu Dhabi Ports management. The company also welcomed, a day before the event, the largest container vessel to call at the port, the Emirates Hana , which is capable of handling 5,500 TEUs.
In line with the concession agreement, Abu Dhabi Ports will be investing in deepening of berths to -16.5 metres to allow bigger vessels to come to the port, building of an approximate 300,000 sqm yard of storage space, as well as an additional 1km quay to accommodate the expected growth in the number of ships arriving at the port.
Abu Dhabi Ports will also work on equipping Fujairah Ports STS post-panama quay cranes, RTG’s as well as new IT systems.
The development of berths and yards is scheduled to commence in 2018. The port will remain operational during this time.
Additional capacity and new quay cranes are scheduled to begin operations in 2020, including the post-panama quay cranes.