AD PORTS GROUP, CMA CGM GROUP INK AGREEMENT FOR NEW TERMINAL INVESTMENT IN KHALIFA PORT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- AD Ports Group, the region’s premier facilitator of logistics, industry, and trade, and France-based CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, have announced the signing of a 35-year concession agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, a new terminal will be established in Khalifa Port, the first semi-automated container port in the GCC region, which will be managed by a joint venture owned by CMA CGM’s subsidiary CMA Terminals (with a 70 per cent stake) and AD Ports Group (30 per cent stake).

The partners are expected to commit approximately AED 570 million (US$154 million) to the project, according to a statement. (US$1 = RM4.147)

Chairman of AD Ports Group, Falah Mohammed Al Ahbabi said: “This landmark agreement with the CMA CGM Group is a prime example of those continued efforts and one that will significantly accelerate trade and the development of industry in the UAE and beyond.”

With construction starting in 2021, the new terminal is set to be handed over in 2024 with, in phase 1, an initial quay length of 800 metres and an estimated annual capacity of 1.8 million TEUs.

AD Ports Group will be responsible for developing a wide range of supporting marine works and infrastructure, including up to a total of 1,200 metres of quay wall, a 3,800-metre breakwater, a fully built-out rail platform, and 700,000sqm of terminal yard.

The terminal will provide CMA CGM with a new regional hub and will enable the Group to develop its service offering between Abu Dhabi and South Asia, Western Asia, East Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean as well as the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent.

CMA CGM Group is the third of the world’s top-four shipping entities to join forces with Abu Dhabi’s leading facilitator of trade, logistics and industry.

The agreement confirms Khalifa Port’s standing as one of only a few major ports in the world providing hubs for three of the world’s top shipping lines, as well as serving as an instrumental part of the global maritime trade connecting markets from east to west.

-- BERNAMA