Arabian Post Staff
Regional ports and terminals operator Gulftainer announced that it has extended its concession agreements with the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority for a further 35 years, which reinforces the shared mission to transforming UAE’s supply chain and logistics industry throughout the Northern Emirates’ key trade gateways at Sharjah Container Terminal and Khorfakkan Container Terminal.
The extended agreements allow Gulftainer to manage, operate and further develop Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) throughout this century. This will encompass the unique value proposition elements of both ports – for SCT and Port Khalid, the first container terminal in the Middle East – where Gulftainer and Sharjah Ports Authority have been the trade enabler not only for the Emirate of Sharjah but also for the Northern Emirates and the whole UAE, handling container, bulk, Ro-Ro and general cargo. Additionally, KCT – one of the world’s most productive ports, which is strategically located outside the Straits of Hormuz on Sharjah’s Indian Ocean coast serving the major east-west shipping routes, is capable of handling the world’s largest container vessels and is also fully equipped to handle general cargoes for the UAE market and the wider GCC region.
This continued collaboration between Sharjah Ports Authority and Gulftainer, across five decades, marks a significant milestone in the UAE’s maritime landscape, underscoring the value of public-private partnerships and its vital role in revolutionising port infrastructure and bolstering trade for the region and beyond.
Gulftainer signed the original concession agreements for operating and managing the container terminal at Port Khalid in 1976 and the container terminal at Port Khorfakkan in 1986.
Also published on Medium.