July 23 - General cargo moving through Abu Dhabi Ports Company's (ADPC) commercial ports has increased by 37 percent this year.

ADPC's commercial ports of Musaffah, Khalifa and Zayed handled 4.7 million freight tonnes of general cargo in the first half of 2014, an increase of 1.74 million freight tonnes compared with the same period in 2013.

"These figures show a strong first half of 2014 and indicate a promising six months ahead", said Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, ceo of ADPC.

"We expect that we will handle more than 12 million freight tonnes by the end of this year, compared to 9.5 million handled last year."

While Abu Dhabi's ongoing economic growth explains some of the increased volumes, ADPC says that another reason for the increase is its work with key customers, such as Emirates Aluminium (EMAL), Emirates Steel, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), to consolidate and maximise their supply chain efficiencies.  

EMAL and ADPC have signed a ten-year agreement contracting ADPC to handle all of the logistics involved in exporting high quality aluminium products from EMAL's production site to its customers.

Another reason behind the growing import and export activities at Abu Dhabi's commercial ports, says ADPC, is the progress of several key infrastructure projects, which are requiring increased import and export volumes.

ADPC explained that these include the midfield terminal at Abu Dhabi Airports, as well as the upcoming Louvre Museum Abu Dhabi, the Guggenheim Museum, and various building projects in the Western Region, many of which require specialised project cargo and increased volumes of building materials.

 

 

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