Autoterminal, a member of the Noatum Maritime Group, and Abu Dhabi Ports, have signed a shareholder agreement for the creation of a joint venture company called Autoterminal Khalifa Port, to manage the RoRo/car terminal in Khalifa Port under a 15 year concession.
Autoterminal is the leading multimodal car terminal in the Mediterranean, located in the Port of Barcelona, with more than 25 years experience in the automotive sector. In turn, Abu Dhabi Ports is the master developer of ports and industrial zones in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and plays a vital role in driving economic growth in the UAE.
The 30ha car terminal, with more than 550m of dedicated quay that will be located in Khalifa Port, will provide a geo-strategic location for import traffic which will benefit from the 100sqkm Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone, the largest free zone in the region that is fully integrated with one of the fastest growing ports in the world. In addition, the new specialised terminal will offer added-value services to all its car terminal users for PDI inspections, vehicle customisation, and other technical services.
The main short-term objectives of the agreement are to provide the same level of quality that Autoterminal offers its clients in the Port of Barcelona, and to position Khalifa Port as the regional hub for all commercial trade routes in the Gulf, East Africa, and the Red Sea.
Noatum Maritime has recently created a new division called Noatum Maritime Automotive, which will cover all the Group’s activities related to port operations for vehicles and RoRo cargo, having handled 1,200,000 vehicles in 2017.