Front page / Hírek / Aqaba to Extend Container Terminal Berth
Jordan’s Aqaba Container Terminal on Monday unveiled plans for a $235 million terminal expansion project centered on the 1,509-foot extension of its berth, which will increase annual container throughout capacity to 2 million 20-foot equivalent units when fully completed and equipped.
The port’s plan calls for capital expenditure during the 2009-2013 plan period that will bring the total investment since 2006 to $335 million.
The 124-acre facility will double its berth length to 9,840 feet. Two super Post-Panamax cranes, each capable of reaching across 18 containers, are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2010, with additional units added as container volume increases.
ACT, which is part of the APM Terminals global terminal network, is Jordan’s primary access to the international shipping lanes of the Red Sea and beyond.
Despite the severe drop-offs in container traffic worldwide due to the global financial crisis, ACT saw its container traffic grow by 25 percent during the first three quarters of 2009. In 2008, container volume at the port surged by 42 percent to approximately 600,000 TEUs.
“The increasing volume demands on the terminal, in spite of the financial crisis, placed ACT’s capacity under pressure, resulting in a call for such a move which is in line with our master plan,” said Imad Najeeb Fakhoury, CEO of the Aqaba Development Corporation and ACT’s board chairman.
Fakhoury said the project will be completed in stages with the final phase set for 2013.
During this past year, port investments have included STS cranes, six rubber-tire gantry cranes, 100 additional refrigerated plugs, and the upgrading of the existing port facilities.
Continued growth in containerized cargo trade is forecast for Jordan, with the continued development of logistics facilities in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, and the ongoing transition to containerization of the region’s commodity trade in rice and sugar.
ACT is a joint venture between Aqaba Development Corporation, which is the Jordanian Government's central development vehicle for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone and APM Terminals.
After signing a Terminal Management Contract with ADC in 2004, APM Terminals took over the management and operation of the terminal. A further 25-year Joint Development Agreement was signed between ADC and the ACT in 2006.
The joint venture represents the first public private partnership initiative launched by ADC as part of its program to rehabilitate and expand port terminals of Aqaba and wider logistics and transport infrastructure within ASEZ.
Source: www.joc.com
top
