Saqr Port Container Terminal opened

'Ibn Battotah', a vessel owned and operated by United Arab Shipping Company, today became the first vessel to be berthed at the new container terminal, which has been developed and managed by KGLPI within the framework of a 21- year concession agreement with the Government of Ras Al Khaimah.

Speaking at a press conference held in connection with the event, Mohammad K. Al Mazeedi, Chairman and CEO of KGLPI, said that all the works of the container terminal have been completed and the terminal will be officially inaugurated at a function to be held in March 2007 under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.

'Today is a milestone in the history of KGLPI, as it is delivering on a promise to design, build, equip and operate one of the most modern ports in the region,' he said. Mazeedi added that the first phase of the container terminal development involved an investment of USD 70 million.

'The Mina Saqr container terminal is equipped with state- of- the- art facilities including 3 gantry cranes built by Liebber of Germany and 6 RTG's in addition to a full compliment of back up equipments. The container terminal also has a very advanced port management IT system, NAVIS, which is to be integrated to an Oracle ERP solution', he said.

Mohammad Al Mazeedi also announced the ambitious Phase- Two expansion plan for the container terminal under which the capacity will be enhanced around ten-fold to touch 3,000,000 TEU's in a period of five years.

'We are in the final stages of the technical, operational and financial studies for undertaking the Phase Two expansion. It will be presented before H.H. Sheikh Saud for approval and we hope to raise the capacity of the container terminal to 3 million TEU's within a period of five years at an estimated cost of USD 250 million', Mazeedi said.

'KGLPI is emerging as an internationally recognized developer and operator of ports and we are implementing a strategic plan to add two additional ports to our portfolio every year', he said and added that the company was currently building a new container terminal in Egypt with a capacity of four million TEU per year.

Kenneth A Bedward, Chief Commercial Officer, KGLPI, said that many major shipping lines are expected to use the Saqr Port container terminal which is endowed with a unique strategic location. 'The port is also uniquely placed to handle transshipment operations, especially with Bandar Abbas', he said.

Fadhel Albaghli, Vice-Chairman and Chief Operation Officer, KGLPI, and top officials of the RAK Government were present at the press conference.