Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT) will manage terminal operations at Mina Zayed port from the start of 2011.

ADT will now replace Dubai-based port operator DP World, which has operated the terminal at the old port in Abu Dhabi for five years.

Discussions over operations of the new Khalifa port, which forms part of the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) are still ongoing and Abu Dhabi Ports Company says it has still not reached an agreement with DP World or ADT.

In May, sources at the port said that ADPC was considering creating a new port company that would manage Khalifa Port and could be called Emirates Ports Company (MEED 25:5:10).

Dubai’s DP World is currently due to operate Khalifa port as part of a deal signed with ADPC in 2007, but this could now change.

The first phase of Khalifa port will have the capacity for 2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 6 million tonnes of general cargo. Four later phases will result in capacity rising to 22 million TEUs and 35 million tonnes of cargo by 2028.