AD Ports Group unveils Abu Dhabi’s first Inland dry port

In order to improve Khalifa Port’s connection and raise the standard of logistical services provided throughout the United Arab Emirates, AD Ports Group announced the opening of a new custom-bound inland dry port facility. Ideally situated between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Al Faya Dry Port will serve as an Inland Container Depot (ICD) connected to Khalifa Port via land. For Dubai and the Northern Emirates, it will provide a truck transit terminal, increasing market speed and enabling more economical freight handling operations. Al Faya Dry Port’s first major customer will be CMA CGM, but it will eventually grow to accommodate AD Ports Group’s other important shipping partners at Khalifa Port, including COSCO and MSC.

Other ICDs could be implemented throughout Abu Dhabi, contingent on market demand. The December 2024 inauguration of CMA Terminals Khalifa Port to serve end users throughout the United Arab Emirates is enhanced and expanded by the opening of the ICD facility in Al Faya. Through the Advanced Trade & Logistics Platform (ATLP) from Maqta Technologies, Al Faya Dry Port and Khalifa Port are digitally connected. The new facility allows CMA CGM and other operators at Khalifa Port to generate origin and destination (O&D) revenue by bridging the gap between Khalifa Port and the cargo’s final destination.

The dry port truck terminal has an initial container capacity of 900 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) but has been built to be easily scalable, depending on demand. Al Faya Dry Port is the latest example of a growing collaboration between AD Ports Group and CMA CGM, a global player in sea, land, air, and logistics following the recent signing of a shareholders’ agreement, to jointly develop, manage and operate the New East Mole multipurpose terminal in Pointe Noire, Congo-Brazzaville, for which AD Ports Group received a 30-year extendable concession in June 2023.