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Belt and Road Initiative Turns 10: CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal praised as flagship project

Tuesday, 19 September 2023 | 00:00

YOU YANG Khalifa Port “The CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal is China Ocean Shipping Group’s first international greenfield project operating within the United Arab Emirate’s flagship deep-water Khalifa Port. It’s also COSCO’s subsidiary and a strategic hub along China’s Belt and Road Initiative, with the biggest Container Freight Station in the region. The water depth of the terminal is 18 meters, allowing it to accommodate 20,000 mega vessels. And, it’s also the first in the Middle East to introduce an autonomous port trucking system, cementing CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal and Khalifa Port’s standing as one of the most advanced maritime facilities in the region. Earlier, I paid a visit to the terminal while exploring this breakthrough system.”

A flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative between China and the United Arab Emirates, and a strategic hub connecting the region to international markets.

YOU YANG Khalifa Port “Strategically located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal is China Ocean Shipping Group’s first international greenfield project operating within the renowned deep-water Khalifa Port.”

The terminal boasts water depth of 18-meters, allowing it to accommodate mega vessels with a capacity of up to 24,000 TEU, the measurement used to describe shipping containers.

And it’s also the first facility in the Middle East to introduce an autonomous internal truck system within the terminal.

The automated freight trucks are equipped with a cutting-edge 360-degree sensory system that includes traffic monitoring and driving guidance features.

CHEN YUPING CEO, CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, COSCO Shipping “The construction of the CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal started in 2017, and was open to shipping in December 2018. It’s designed to have the capacity to handle 2.5 million TEUs, or twenty-foot equivalent units. We operated without interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, we handled one million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 46 percent.”

Local officials say they hope the growth of Khalifa Port will have a positive impact on the neighboring Khalifa Industrial Zone, aligning with the country’s efforts to diversify its economy.

CHEN YUPING CEO, CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, COSCO Shipping “The CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal serves as a key passage under the Belt and Road Initiative in the Middle-East. It has a very important geographical location. We’ve dedicated building this port as a hub, which is to say other shipping routes will be arranged to serve the operations of the port. We believe it’ll bring great benefits to the development of the logistics sector in the UAE, and even the entire Middle East region.”

Apart from COSCO SHIPPING, global shipping giants like Maersk, CMA CGM Group and others, are conducting business operations at Khalifa Port.

Notably, China stands as the UAE’s largest trading partner. In 2022, non-oil trade volume between the two countries reached a significant 77 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 27 percent year-on-year increase.

As one of the early adopters of the Belt and Road Initiative, the UAE is solidifying its position as a gateway for China into the Middle East.

YOU YANG Khalifa Port “As we mentioned in the story, the UAE is looking to reduce its dependency on oil to prepare for a post-oil era. A decade after Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, beneficiaries and partners in the country are praising the program for boosting the Arab nation’s plans to diversify its economy. Local officials say they hope that by 2030, the contribution of Khalifa Port and the nearby Khalifa Industrial Zone to the GDP of Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy will reach 15 percent. At the same time, the UAE is among six new countries invited to join BRICS. The new additions will be formally admitted as members on January 1, in the new year. And, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed has welcomed the invitation, saying he looks forward to a new level of cooperation. Chinese Senior Diplomat Wang Yi has previously said the inclusion of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into BRICS will help increase the influence and role of Arab countries in international affairs.”
Source: CGTN

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