Aqaba Container Terminal, the world’s gateway to Jordan and beyond, held on Monday the 24th of September a roundtable event, during which it shared its latest developments regarding the berth expansion project, post Eid operations, and its strategic future plans.
Hosted at the Intercontinental Hotel Amman, the event saw the attendance of representatives, captain, and members of the Jordan Shipping Association, a number of shipping agents, ACT’s CEO Soren Hansen, CCO Richard Davidsen, and other key figures from ACT’s management team.
In his presentation at the event, Mr. Soren Hansen stated that the terminal’s berth expansion project continues to make steady progress, with the civil infrastructure portion making substantial headway. He also added that the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by Q1 2013, with all construction works being streamlined to meet that deadline, and total quay length being increased from 540 to 1000 meters.
Hansen further pointed out that upon completion of the first phase the company plans to rehabilitate the existing old berth, in a move to increase the operational capacity of the terminal. From another angle, ACT’s is also to upgrade its equipment in line with the expansion, in an aim to ensure a smooth operation. More specifically, ACT developed its crane inventory to include modern automated cranes, taking into consideration general safety standards and employee safety.
In a related context, Hansen also revealed the company’s intentions to increase its number of STS cranes to 7 with new 2 cranes of 41 meter above rail, 22 wide rows wide. The company also intends to add an additional number of 4 RTG cranes to its inventory, in addition to 16 additional Truck heads and 16 additional Trailers.
He also explained that the ongoing development of the terminal’s facilities fall in line with ACT strategic expansion plans, stressing the company’s commitment to providing the best level of service to its customers. These extra developments are undertaken to handle all containers on time with no delays especially in the period following the Eid.
It is worth mentioning that Aqaba Container Terminal have reported notable improvements in container traffic through the terminal, reaching a total container throughput of 19.5 percent increase over the same period in the previous year. Other figures confirmed the positive direction of the port; the year 2011 ended with total growth of 16.5%, export growth of 13.6%, import growth of 19.1%, and reefer growth of 17.9%.
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Dredging Today Staff, September 24, 2012; Image: archiform3d