Abu Dhabi’s new Port Khalifa is ahead of its targets to transfer all the container business from the emirate’s old port Mina Zayed.

According to Tony Douglas, chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), 30 per cent of Mina Zayed’s containership volume has already been transferred to Port Khalifa, which is ahead of the initially planned schedule.

Port Khalifa opened on 1 September with facilities capable of handling 2.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year. With the 40-year-old existing Mina Zayed port operating at full capacity and unable to handle some of the larger container ships, it was planned that all Mina Zayed’s container capacity would be transferred to Port Khalifa.  All containership business is expected to be transferred within the first quarter of 2013.

Mina Zayed handled 517,000 TEUs in 2010, rising to 767,713 TEUs in 2011. According to Douglas, throughput for both Mina Zayed and Port Khalifa is set to hit at least 800,000 TEUs this year. He predicts throughput to hit 1 million TEUs in 2013.