General cargo moving through Abu Dhabi's commercial Ports has increased by 37% this year. ADPC's commercial ports (Musaffah, Khalifa and Zayed Ports) have handled 6.4 million FT of general cargo in 2014, compared to 4.7 million FT in the first half of 2013. This is an increase of 1.74 million FT (freight tonnes) in 2014, compared with the same period in 2013.

These figures show a strong first half of 2014 and indicate a promising six months ahead, said Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO, ADPC.

He adds: The volume of cargo moving through our ports is on the up. We expect that we will handle more than 12 million FT by the end of this year, compared to 9.5million FThandled last year.

While Abu Dhabi's ongoing economic growth explains some of the increased volumes, another reason is ADPC's work with key customers to consolidate and maximize their supply chain efficiencies. These include local and international businesses such as Emirates Aluminium (EMAL), Emirates Steel, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation(ENEC).

EMAL is the anchor tenant in the aluminium cluster of the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad). The company has a purpose built wharf at Khalifa Port to shorten the supply chain of raw materials direct from sea to smelter. EMAL and ADPChave also signed a ten year agreement contracting ADPC to handle all of the logistics involved in exporting high quality aluminium products from EMAL's production site to more than 150 customers worldwide. EMAL expects the volume of exported metal to increase from 600,000 tonnes in 2014, to more than 750,000 tonnes from 2015 onwards.

Another reason behind the growing import and export activities at Abu Dhabi's commercial ports is the progress of several key infrastructure projects, which are requiring increased import and export volumes.

These include the midfield terminal at Abu Dhabi Airports, as well as the upcoming Louvre Museum Abu Dhabi, the Guggenheim Museum, and various building projectsin the Western Region, many of which require specialized project cargo and increased volumes of building materials.

Against this backdrop, ADPC is enhancing its capacity for general and bulk cargo at Abu Dhabi Ports, with a special focus on Zayed Port. After announcing an AED-20-million investment in essential maintenance work at Zayed Port and the Free Ports in March, ADPC is now remapping all of Zayed Port's processes, and upgrading the port's equipment and analyzing its business efficiencies to meet cargo flows in the most efficient way.