Abu Dhabi Ports has officially opened a new multi-purpose port catering to cargo vessels, passenger ferries and fishing boats on the eastern side of Delma Island.

Upgrading the port was estimated to cost AED170m ($46.2m).

The upgraded port covers a total area of 280,725 square metres. It features an accessible breakwater with platform to integrate the operation of ferry terminal and Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority (CICPA) facilities. The ferry terminal has a 103-metre-long quay wall with three fixed ramps that serve as berthing areas for ferry vessels. A marina to support local boat owners has 160 wet berths and 104 dry berths for fishing and recreational craft.

The port includes an administration building, a fish market, a public building, a storage area for fishing equipment, an Adnoc marine fuelling facility, a ferry terminal building and a CICPA inspection facility.

The port is instrumental in developing the emirate’s Al-Dhafra region, according to Faris Khalaf Khalfan al-Mazrouei, head of Abu Dhabi’s General Authority for the Security of Ports, Borders & Free Zones and board member of Abu Dhabi Ports.

“The development of Delma Port comes in line with the Abu Dhabi Plan, which calls for an effective transportation system to serve the community and economy, with an emphasis on the development of sustainable sea transport,” Al-Mazrouei said in a statement.

Delma Island is located about 42 kilometres off the coast of Abu Dhabi and 116km from Doha, Qatar’s capital.

The island can be visited by taking ferries from Abu Dhabi’s Jebel Dhanna.