Giant post Panamax cranes stand like sentinels at Bahrain’s new Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Hidd in anticipation of the start of operations towards the end of the first quarter of the New Year.

The port, which will focus on Upper Gulf cargoes, has deployed four such cranes, each 61 m tall, with space available for another eight to be added in course of time to promote even quicker handling of cargo.
Also known as the Bahrain Gateway, the port is built on reclaimed land and occupies a 900,000 sq m site. Its quayside length is 1.8 km, capable of attending to four 300 m long ships at a time, while quay depth is 15 m.  Throughput capacity is 1.1 million teu, three times that of the existing Mina Salman Port, with the possibility it can be upgraded to 3 million teu with expansions and additional equipment.
APM Terminals, which will run the port on a 25-year contract, has invested $62 million, said managing director Steen Davidsen.
Davidsen said both the existing Mina Salman Port and the new Khalifa Bin Salman Port will run simultaneously for some time to facilitate the transfer of cargo from Mina Salman to the new facility.
The official said APM Terminals Bahrain had recruited 625 people, 84 per cent of them Bahraini. Some 64 per cent of managers in the operations department are also Bahrainis.
Iain Rawlinson, general manager for sales and marketing, commented that the new port would market itself as a cargo hub for the Upper Gulf.
A good sign was that the Bahrain Logistics Zone, launched in July, had started attracting customers, he said.
Rawlinson highlighted that the zone offered zero tax and imports and re-exports of goods without duties plus full foreign ownership of facilities. When completed, it would offer space totaling 475,000 sq m.
The new world-class port will inspire local and international parties to invest in industrial investment, said APM Terminals commercial analyst Yusuf bin Sanad.
Royal Haskoning worked on the project as consultant, designer and project manager with its local associate Almoayed Consulting Engineers .
Khalifa bin Salman Port will also serve the adjacent Bahrain International Investment Park which has already attracted major manufacturing companies such as Kraft and Abahsain Fibreglass ME.