The Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) US$140m berth expansion project has been completed and is now open for business, making Jordan a “key regional gateway and logistical hub”.
The four-year project has doubled the capacity of the country’s largest Red Sea port with the addition of 460m of quay, taking it to 1km.
Jeppe Jensen, chief executive, ACT, said: “We have worked to establish a world-class port facility, address environmental issues, community growth and economic development on a national and regional level, for which this expanded capacity will play a crucial role.”
It is now able to handle an annual throughput of 1.5 million teu and has been equipped with two new STS gantry cranes with a 22-container row reach, and four RTGs.
With a depth ranging from 14.5m to 22m, ACT is now a major cargo gateway for Jordan, which is bordered by four countries and two continents. The terminal is also a natural transit hub for the Levant and Middle East, including Iraq, for which direct rail access is planned.
ACT says the facility will contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of Jordan. The terminal is also set to feature a new €47m LNG facility, scheduled to open in early 2014.
ACT is a joint venture between the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), the Jordanian government’s development arm for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, and APM Terminals, which manages the facility under the current contract through 2031.
