DCV heading for milestone
Cargo throughput at the Dubai Cargo Village was set to cross the million-tonne milestone for the first time in 2005, a senior official said.
Throughput could reach 1.2 million tonnes by the end of the year, said Abdullah Mohammad Bin Khediya, DCV’s senior general manager. It was 940,595 tonnes in 2003, up from the previous year’s 784,997 tonnes, recording a 19.82 per cent growth.
Construction of the new Cargo Mega Terminal, part of a Master Plan, is in progress. “The main contract, awarded to Al Naboudah Contracting, will be completed in two years’ time,” Abdullah said. About 20 freight operators serve Dubai International Airport daily. But passenger aircraft carry 60 per cent of the cargo throughput. Emirates carries about 50 per cent of DCV’s cargo load.
Cargo service launched
Dubai’s Al Rais Cargo has launched its services with a maiden flight to Tehran.
The company is also in talks with large airlines to sign interline agreements on cargo shipment, said Al Rais Cargo general manager Hossain Tehrani.
He said the company had bought two Boeing 727-200s, with a 22-tonne payload capacity. The airline will base its operations at Dubai International Airport and create a logistics centre there.
The airline will feed cargo into larger airlines before expanding worldwide.
Mumbai office opened
UAE-based Swift Freight International has extended its network to Mumbai (Bombay), India, with the launch of its 37th office under Swift Shipping & Freight Logistics.
After consolidating its position in the Africa, Middle East and Far East freight logistics industries, the Swift Group is now focusing on India and South Asia, making India the 17th country in its network, said a spokesman. Swift Shipping & Freight Logistics will offer its customers complete supply chain solutions including customs clearance, transportation and warehousing and distribution as well as air, ocean and sea-air services. Heading the India operations is managing director Mark D’Souza.
Kuwait building container port
Kuwait is to start building a state-of-the-art, $1.2-billion container port on Bubiyan Island early in 2005 following cabinet approval, public works minister Bader Al Humaidi said.
“Work on the port will start early 2005... It will be the main port serving Kuwait, Iran and Iraq,” he said in a presentation on the port.
The government has given the project the green light as part of a major plan to develop Bubiyan — the largest of the emirate’s nine islands — into a free zone, storage area, an oil depot and a centre of recreational services.
The port will become operational in stages, beginning in early 2008 with a 1.3-million standard container capacity ahead of final completion by 2016. Its rate of return will be around 14.5 per cent.
Rail investments sought
Saudi Arabia’s railway authority will seek international investment in a project to build more than 1,000 km of new track across the desert kingdom, officials said.
Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) will hold a ‘project day’ in London on January 31 to promote the plan among potential investors.
SRO president Khalid Al Yahya said his organisation was planning a 950 km link between Jeddah and Riyadh, tying into an existing line between Riyadh and the Dammam port.
Declaration signed
Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation has joined the US Customs and Border Protection’s Container Security Initiative (CSI), US Customs authorities said. Signing the Declaration of Principles were Sultan Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the corporation, and commissioner Robert Bonner of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service.
The declaration acknowledges that all cargo destined for the United States through the port of Dubai is a potential target for terrorists and will be prescreened.
More than 20 countries have joined the CSI.
UASC announces profits
Kuwait-based United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has registered profits of $79 million for the first nine months, said Abdullah Al Mady, president and chief officer. This compares with earnings of $40 million achieved in the same period of 2003. He added that he expected profits to reach a record level of more than $100 million by the end of 2005.
UASC transported 818,000 teu during the first nine months of the year, and the company pointed out that major arterial container trades, as well as trades to the Middle East, had grown significantly in recent years.
The company said it had developed a strategy to keep up with the growing trade demands, especially on Middle East routes. It plans to build eight high-speed containerships of 6,000-7,000 teu to expand UASC’s service networks.
Kuwait in shipyard deal
Southeast Asia’s largest shipyard, SembCorp Marine, said its unit Jurong SML had clinched a $32 million shipbuilding deal to construct two tankers for Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, according to a Reuter report.
Suez Canal raises fees
The Suez Canal Authority said it would raise its transit fees by three per cent starting from February 2005, the first hike in three years. The Suez Canal had kept its fees steady for three years in a row to help lift traffic through the strategic waterway.
Chairman Ahmed Ali Fadel said in the canal town of Ismailia that the authority would reduce concessions for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) travelling from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Zone.
The toll reduction would be 35 per cent instead of 45 per cent for VLCCs travelling from the Gulf of Mexico and 40 per cent instead of 55 per cent for tankers traveling from the Caribbean Zone. The reduction was originally put in place to attract VLCC traffic of more than 200,000 deadweight tonnes.
For tankers discharging oil through the Sumed pipeline before passing northbound through the canal, Fadel said the authority would raise its minimum transit charge to $130,000 from $90,000.
