The Sila Port ... to be opened shortly.
ABU DHABI Ports Company (ADPC) has unveiled a wave of new developments in commercial ports situated in the Western Region, also known as Al Gharbia.
The planned improvements and enhancements are part of ADPC’s mandate of being a leader in the development of world-class ports across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The announcement of the developments aimed at diversifying the capital’s economy and contributing to its Vision 2030 was made at the ADPC-hosted World Ports and Trade Summit that took place in March.
ADPC has identified a number of ports in the Western Region that will have its facilities upgraded including Sila, Mugharrag, Marfa, Delma and the marina at Shahama, which is located near Abu Dhabi city.
Two of the Western Region ports will be officially opened shortly – the Sila Port and the Mugharrag Port. Both ports will be fully manned to handle commercial cargo and will each feature a terminal building, a newly installed vessel traffic system (VTS) along with a radar.
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Chen Weiping, deputy chief commercial engineer at ZMPC (left) and Tony Douglas, CEO of ADPC, seal the crane contract. |
The remaining ports, Delma, Marfa and Shahama are currently being carefully studied and will undergo development by the end of the year, once final approvals have been granted. Shahama Port will see the construction of a commercial recreational marina open to the public.
Commenting on the developments, Walid Al Tamimi, vice-president of ports operations, ADPC, said: “These exciting developments will help both the industry and local communities living in Al Gharbia and at Shahama. We are proud to be playing our part in the diversification of the Abu Dhabi economy and in creating new business opportunities to the people of Abu Dhabi. We will continue with our ongoing commitment of providing excellent services to the ports we look after.”
In another development, ADPC awarded Shanghai-based ZPMC (Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company) a Dh193-million ($52.4 million) contract for six super post-Panamax ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes for Khalifa Port.
This brings the value of crane contracts awarded by ADPC for Khalifa Port since November 2010 to Dh707 million ($192.64 million), including orders from Konecranes Finland for Dh430 million ($116.98 million) and Terex for Dh84 million ($22.9 million).
The STS cranes that will be supplied by ZPMC are designed with a single hoist and a rated load of 110 tonnes that will support tandem lift (2 by 40-ft) operations in the future. An outreach of 65 m and a lifting height of 44 m under the spreader will secure the capacity required to handle ultra-large container ships.
The terminal is designed to introduce fully automated transport on the quay at a later stage and for this reason the cranes are designed with a 38 m back reach. The cranes will be delivered in two batches of three units each. The first will arrive in Q1 2012 and be fully operational by Q2 2012. The second batch will follow in three months time from the first one.
The new deepwater gateway port that ADPC is constructing at Khalifa Port, Taweelah, between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, lies adjacent to Kizad (Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi), which is destined to become one of the largest industrial zones in the world.
The first phases of both Khalifa Port and Kizad will be completed by Q4, 2012.
