In the presence of HH Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of the Department of Transport and member of the Abu Dhabi executive council, Abu Dhabi Ports and COSCO SHIPPING Ports held their ground-breaking ceremony for the CSP Abu Dhabi Container Terminal during a high-level event at Khalifa Port.
The ground-breaking ceremony was presided over by HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and chairman of Abu Dhabi Ports, and HE Ning Jizhe, deputy director of Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), who witnessed the unveiling of the ground-breaking plaque as well as the signing ceremony for the new CFS by Capt Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports and Zhang Wei, vice-chairman and managing director of COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited.
A new agreement between CSP, one of the worlds leading ports operator, and Abu Dhabi Ports was also signed during the ceremony for development of the largest container freight station in the region. The new container freight station will provide Abu Dhabi trade with a state of the art facility offering bonded LCL/FCL consolidation and de-consolidation services, cross stuffing, cargo weight reduction, short term warehousing for de-consolidated cargo, as well as easy connectivity with the container terminals in Khalifa Port.
Speaking on the occasion of the groundbreaking, HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: Following the guidance and vision of the leadership, Abu Dhabi Ports has played an important role in expanding trading links between the UAE and China, which is now the UAEs second largest trading partner. The partnership between Abu Dhabi Ports and COSCO SHIPPING Ports to develop the regions largest container freight station will add a new dimension to UAE-China trade relations and is fully aligned with Abu Dhabis Vision 2030 to drive growth, attract investment, support economic diversification, and create sustainable jobs.
HE Jizhe expressed his view: Khalifa Port is one of the fastest growing ports and an 
important gateway port in the region, with huge potential and prospect. COSCO SHIPPING Ports is marching another step forward in the port development project with Abu Dhabi Ports. The solid progression of the CFS project writes a new chapter between China and the UAE, in terms of infrastructure investment, construction and service sector, and bears new fruit for The Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries, injecting new energy to solidify and promote China-UAE economic and trade cooperation, thus providing new contributions.”
Capt Xu Lirong, chairman of COSCO SHIPPING said: “China and UAE’s growing relationship in recent years has created favourable environment and conditions for the cooperation between the two countries in the port and shipping industries. Khalifa Port is an important gateway in Abu Dhabi, an important hub in the Middle East, and a major focal point for ‘Belt and Road, thus plays a significant role in the shipping industry.
“The signing of the agreement on CSP Abu Dhabi CFS project will further strengthen the services of the terminal and enhance the trade cooperation between the two countries. Port business is the core resources of COSCO SHIPPING, it is the foundation and strategic support of our global network. The stable development of the port business will bring mutual benefits to our shipping business and other business in upstream and downstream.”
Capt Al Shamisi expressed his happiness in the ground-breaking ceremony and the signing of the new agreement, and praised COSCO SHIPPING Ports on their decision to take Khalifa Port as a hub for their operations in the region. He commented on the dual achievements said: Khalifa Port is considered to be one of the most important and advanced ports in the Middle East, considering its world-class infrastructure, strategic location that connects customers to the rest of the world. Last year, Abu Dhabi Ports signed a deal with CSP, the worlds largest container operator, who chose Khalifa Port as the hub for its operations in the Middle East, and with CSP on board, we expect to raise the annual capacity of Khalifa Port to 6 million TEUs. This marks a significant leap in the expansion of the port, transfer of goods, and reduction of costs.
“In addition to attracting investors from Eastern Asia, it will increase Khalifa Ports competitiveness and ease the way for more partnerships with companies and friends in China and East Asia, which will draw further investments into Abu Dhabi. Our strategy is paying off as business continues to flourish and grow ahead of our competition and we strengthen our grip and positioning as a strong player in the international market place.”
Zhang Wei said: CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal is the first overseas Greenfield project controlled by COSCO SHIPPING Ports. The project encompasses our passion to build our own strategic terminal and our goal to drive the economic growth of the region. CSP is dedicated to building a high efficient comprehensive terminal with synergies from port and shipping, a transshipment hub, and a solid services network connecting transportations in the sea, land and air. We believe a successful business model drives economic growth and it is our will to foster the growth of trade and economy in the regions while achieving our own growth; for that we have great expectations and working hard towards it.