Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port is expected to see container traffic hit 2 million twenty foot-equivalent units (TEUs) a year by 2020, according to forecasts by the Abu Dhabi Ports Authority.

Speaking at MEED’s Abu Dhabi conference on 19 November, Captain Abdulkareem al-Masab, vice-president of Khalifa Port Operations at ADPC, told delegates that this target will probably be reached far earlier than official projections.

Al-Masab also announced that 85 per cent of the container business at the old Mina Zayed port has now been transferred to the new port, which is situated at Taweelah between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Some 22 of 24 shipping lines have now relocated their operations to Khalifa.

Khalifa Port opened on 1 September with an initial capacity of 2.5 million TEUs. Phase 2 of the port project could see capacity increase to 5 million TEUs, if demand requires it.