Abu Dhabi Ports's traffic grows in 2012

The largest increase was for roll-on-roll-off (RORO) traffic, vehicles driven on and off ships either as trucks carrying goods or vehicles being imported for sale within the UAE. Traffic in this area increased by 41% over the last year.

Other areas of growth between January and September 2012 as compared to the same time period in 2011 included container units, known as TEUs, which grew by 4% from 537,124 to 559,786 units. Additionally, Cruise liner passenger figures increased by 6%, up from 107,560 to 113,902. Levels of bulk and general cargo also grew by 5%, from 6.5 million to 6.8 million tons.

Captain Mohamed Al Shamisi, Executive Vice-President, Ports' Unit, ADPC, said, "Port activity is often seen as a bellwether of the general economic climate. These excellent figures reflect the strength of the Abu Dhabi economy with its strong levels of consumer spending. It is great to see our customers placing more business with Abu Dhabi Ports Company following major investments in our new flagship Khalifa Port and other ports as well as Kizad, our industrial zone."

Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) is a master developer and regulator of ports and industrial zones.

ADPC's core objective is to facilitate the diversification of Abu Dhabi's economy by acting as an enabler for development and trade. It will achieve this by managing commercial ports throughout the Emirate, supporting partners with their infrastructure projects and setting up new companies and joint ventures with partners who service and operate in the ports and industrial zones sector.

ADPC was created in 2006 as part of the restructuring of the commercial ports sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and given control and regulatory enforcement power over all commercial ports assets previously owned by the Abu Dhabi Seaports Authority. ADPC strives to be at the forefront of progress in industrial logistics and infrastructure and is currently focused on creating one of the world's largest concentrations of industry at Kizad.