MIDDLE EAST

Potent plans for Abu Dhabi

15 years ago

A number of new port developments are planned in the Western (Al Gharbia) region of Abu Dhabi, adding to the emirate’s aggressive port expansion plans.

The port at Marfa will benefit from the upgrade plans

The Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) has identified a number of ports in the area that will have their facilities upgraded, including Sila, Mugharrag, Marfa and Delma.

Two of them will soon be officially opened with Sila Port launching in April and Mugharrag Port in May. Both ports will be fully manned to handle commercial cargo and will each feature a terminal building and newly installed Vessel Traffic System (VTS) along with radar.

The remaining ports of Delma and Marfa (plus the Shahama marina) are currently being carefully studied and will start to undergo development by the end of the year, once final approvals have been granted.

This is against the background of the company’s major Khalifa port project which is presently around 70% complete and looks to be opening late in 2012. The facility will then be run by ADT (Abu Dhabi Terminals).

Khalifa’s first phase has a capacity of 2m teu and 12m tonnes of cargo a year: the development will provide port services to the Khalifa Industrial Zone.