Jordan's King Inaugurates Port Project
His Majesty King Abdullah II Inaugurates the Berth Expansion Project and the new gantry cranes at ACT
His Majesty King Abdullah II conducted a field visit to the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), the Kingdom’s primary connecting hub to the international shipping lines of the Red Sea and beyond, to inaugurate the activities of the terminal’s berth expansion project and the operation of its two newly installed Ship-To-Shore (STS) cranes.
His Majesty was joined by the Chairman of ACT Mohammed Alturk, the Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Mohammed Saqer, as well as the Prime minister Samer Refaei and the Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi and various governmental officials, local and international personalities.
ACT is a joint venture between the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) and APM Terminals. Announced in December 2009, the terminal’s berth expansion project will bring a 460-meter extension to the terminal’s quay, which will bolster annual container throughput capacity to a projected 1,6 million twenty-foot equivalent units upon the project’s completion in the year 2013. The expansion project will also almost double the facility’s present wharf length to reach 1000 meters.
Last February, ACT announced the order of two Ship-To-Shore (STS) cranes on the terminal’s berth, allowing the terminal to better handle the ever-increasing number of its shipping and handling requests.
Mohammed Alturk, CEO of the Aqaba Development Company (ADC) and Chairman of ACT’s Board, highlighted the importance of the infrastructure and technology developments currently taking place at ACT and the vital role played by the terminal in making Aqaba a world-class economic zone. “His Majesty’s visit comes to reaffirm ACT’s position as a vital element for the Kingdom’s long-term economic prosperity. The terminal is a key logistical regional hub and continues to make substantial strides towards positioning Aqaba as a preferred gateway for transit cargo moving to and from countries in the region.”
“APM Terminals is consistently working to develop and improve the terminals in its network by implementing strategies to improve productivity and promote eco-friendly operation,” commented Charles Menkhorst, CEO of APM Terminals Africa, Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent Region. “ACT is one of the major projects we are focusing on developing as a key regional hub and our prime focus is to guarantee that port infrastructure keeps up with the rapid growth the market is experiencing.”
In 2008, total investments made by ACT under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract reached $100 million, followed by a $37 million investment made in 2009 to fund the initial stages of the terminal’s expansion plan. The terminal’s investment expenditures are expected to reach $235 million between 2009 and 2013, culminating in a total projected investment value of $325 million.
ACT’s acting CEO Marco Neelsen said that the terminal’s expansion project represents its unwavering commitment to the economic prosperity of Jordan and of all other nations with logistical and trade operations tied to the Red Sea. “The presence of an active logistical hub functioning under international standards is vital for trade operations throughout the Levant. The project will have far-reaching economic repercussions and constitutes a major milestone not only for Jordan but for the region as a whole.”
Despite the severe drop-offs in container traffic worldwide due to the global financial and credit crisis, ACT’s container traffic grew by 16% in (2009)and forecasted to remain stable in 2010. The terminal’s berth expansion project was initiated in response to the proliferating demand for its services and will help reinforce the facility’s position as a primary connecting hub to the international shipping lanes of the Red Sea.
About Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT)
ACT is a joint venture between Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) which is the Jordanian Government's central development vehicle for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) and APM Terminals - one of the world's leading container terminal operators.
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 (JDA) was signed between ADC and the ACT in 2006.
The joint venture represents the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) 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.