The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is pleased to direct your attention to a recent CNBC interview with Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) CEO Tony Douglas highlighting Khalifa Port’s grand opening in Abu Dhabi on September 1st, 2012.
ADPC’s Khalifa Port is the first fully-automated container facility in the region set to support the U.A.E.’s efforts to boost sustainable economic growth and international trade. Further, Khalifa Port, along with Khalifa Industrial Zone-Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), is a key element of Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Emirate’s economic dependence away from oil and gas over the next few decades.
During the interview, Mr. Douglas said that “the attractiveness of low operating costs and an environment where it is easy to do business but also one that is invested in world class transport infrastructure is the key” to the logistical capability and global appeal of Khalifa Port and KIZAD.
The first phase of KIZAD is fifty one square kilometers and is already twenty-five percent pre-sold. ADPC expects a surge in growth over the next several years due to the new technology offered in Khalifa Port and the industrial support structure accessible in KIZAD. Additionally, Khalifa Port and KIZAD are specifically designed to enable other industries such as aluminum and glass to establish themselves and succeed in Abu Dhabi as well as the entire U.A.E.
“What we have developed with Khalifa Port is a port which is safeguarded for forty or fifty years into the future,” said Douglas during the interview.
For the full CNBC interview, visit: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000124128
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About Abu Dhabi Ports Company
Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) is a master developer and regulator of ports and industrial zones. ADPC’s core objective is to facilitate the diversification of Abu Dhabi’s economy by acting as an enabler for development and trade. It will achieve this by managing commercial ports throughout the Emirate, supporting partners with their infrastructure projects and setting up new companies and joint ventures with partners who service and operate in the ports and industrial zones sector. ADPC was created in 2006 as part of the restructuring of the commercial ports sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and given control and regulatory enforcement power over all commercial ports assets previously owned by the Abu Dhabi Seaports Authority. ADPC strives to be at the forefront of progress in industrial logistics and infrastructure and is currently focused on creating one of the world’s largest concentrations of industry at Kizad.
About Khalifa Port and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad)
ADPC, the parent company of Khalifa Port and Kizad, launched the first phase of the megaproject currently under construction in Taweelah, on September 1st. It consists of both Khalifa Port and the adjacent Kizad (Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi). The first phase of the project, which will in time grow in planned subsequent stages to become two-thirds the size of Singapore, has cost AED26.6 billion (USD 7.2 billion). Kizad will become one of the world’s largest industrial zones, and Khalifa Port will stand out as the only port in the Middle East and North Africa equipped with a semi-automated container yard operated by an integrated digital system, which is designed to cater for the future needs of the transportation sector and industrial sectors in the emirate. The port covers 9 square kilometers, including the 2.7 square kilometer offshore port island. It is the only semi-automated sea port in the Middle East and is expected to become a highly competitive, leading global port, making a vital contribution to the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.
About Abu Dhabi Terminals Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT)
manages and operates Abu Dhabi’s four main ports: Khalifa Port, the region’s first fully-automated container facility, Mina Zayed, the current main gateway for cargo in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; the Free Port that caters for smaller vessels, tugs and barges; and Musaffah Port located in the heart of the industrial area. With the inauguration of the Khalifa Port Container Terminal on 1st September 2012, the first semi-automated port in the region, ADT will redefine the regional port industry and further increase Abu Dhabi’s role as a key hub for international trade. ADT offers world-class port infrastructure services, operational excellence, customer-driven solutions and direct access to one of the fastest growing markets in the world through a diversified portfolio of services, which includes: a dedicated container terminal, a container freight station, warehousing, cold store and a general cargo terminal.
