CHINA's Cosco Shipping Ports plans to expand its CSP Abu Dhabi Port Container Terminal in Khalifa to raise the annual handling capacity to 3.6 million TEU and lengthen its quay to 1,800 metres. The semi-automated container terminal began operations this April with an initial handling capacity of 1.5 million TEU and 1,200 metres of quay.
Cosco Shipping Ports Ltd entered into a 35-year concession agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports in September 2016 and construction works started on the "state-of-the-art" facility in November 2017.
The terminal includes the biggest container freight station in the Middle East, spanning 275,000 square metres, and has a depth of 18.5 metres to accommodate mega ships. It is equipped with 11 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes, plus 32 automatic stacking cranes and straddle carriers.
The terminal has already received the world's two largest mega ships, including the 21,000-TEU Cosco Shipping Solar, which is the largest ship ever to call at Khalifa port. Since it began operations this spring 30 ships have called at the terminal, CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal's deputy CEO Naser AlBusaeedi told the Emirates News Agency, Abu Dhabi's WAM.
The UAE-China partnership at Cosco Abu Dhabi Terminal is part of a broader strategy to turn the emirate into a regional logistics and trade hub, in line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 that strives to propel investment growth and economic diversification.
The agreement also opens a new chapter between the UAE and China as part of their cooperation under Beijing's 'Belt and Road Initiative'.
Abu Dhabi Ports plans to expand the current capacity at Khalifa port from five million TEU to 9.1 million TEU over the coming five years.
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