APM Terminal's Aqaba CT to undergo major expansion

THE Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) in Jordan has unveiled plans to expand the facility that will involve extending the quay 460 metres and increasing the annual container capacity to two million TEU.

The expansion project is part of the port's 2009-2013 action plan that will require capital expenditure of US$235 million. This will bring total investment in Jordan's sole container terminal located on the Red Sea since 2006 to $335 million, a company statement said.

The project will be completed in stages with the final phase set for 2013, in a bid to enhance the role of Aqaba as a "strategic gateway" to the Levant region and the wider Middle East.

The plan calls for the 500,000-square-metre (124 acre) facility to double its wharf length to 1,000 metres. Two super post-Panamax cranes, each capable of 18-container reach, are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2010, with additional units to be added as container volumes increase.

Despite the severe decline in container traffic worldwide due to the global financial crisis, ACT saw container traffic grow by 25 per cent during the first three quarters of 2009. Last year, container volume at the port surged by 42 per cent year on year to 600,000 TEU.

"APM Terminals is committed to developing and upgrading several terminals in the region and ACT is one of the major projects we are focusing on to develop as a hub," said APM Terminals India, Mideast and Africa chief Charles Menkhorst.

"Our strategy is to ensure port infrastructure keeps pace with market growth and we are taking the necessary steps today to ensure Jordan's future is served by a world-class port," he said.

During this past year, investments in ACT have included STS cranes, six rubber-tyre gantry cranes (RTGs), 100 additional refrigerated plugs, and the upgrading of the existing port facilities.

ACT is a joint venture between Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), the Jordanian government's central development vehicle for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), and APM Terminals, which took over the management and operation of the terminal in 2004 until 2031 as part of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

Source: www.schednet.com