Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), and Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) as well as Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) have participated in Intermodal South America 2008 Fair which took place in Sao Paulo in Brazil. The Jordanian delegation adopted the slogan "Aqaba your gateway to the Middle East".
The three day Fair, which kicked off mid of April, was one-of-its-kind tradeshow that gathered all companies working in the various segments of the shipping industry under one roof.
"The aim behind The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority's participation in the Intermodal Fair was to introduce Aqaba as a business hub for different types of businesses in the Middle East. And introducing Aqaba to the participants, highlighting the major developments in the Zone over the years and its strategic location in the region," said H.E. Eng. Husni Abu Ghaida the Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.
The Chief Commissioner also added that visitors were introduced to ASEZA as the regulator in Aqaba, and ADC as the investment arm which provides interested investors at the fair with comprehensive information about Aqaba and its market, as well as ACT as a gateway to the Levant in container handling.
More than 400 companies representing shipping lines, port authorities, third-party logistic companies, equipment manufacturers among others displayed their products and services at the fair.
For his part Eng. Imad Fakhoury, ADC’s CEO said that the participation helped place Jordan, particularly Aqaba on the international map. “The Jordanian delegation was looking forward to exploring and benefiting from the latest and best practices the fair will present. Intermodal is a remarkable, globally-known tradeshow that focuses on international markets, logistics and transportation companies. Its business oriented environment plays a significant role in expanding our network of relationships with foreign companies taking part in the fair".
Fakhoury added, “ADC is the owner of a number of major transportation projects in Aqaba that aim at modernizing, upgrading and expanding ASEZ’s competitive advantage. The transportation projects will facilitate increased economic activity, which will ultimately transform Aqaba into a world class transportation hub and a gateway into the Middle East. In partnership with the private sector, ADC is continuously striving to upgrade and expand its transport facilities and related logistical nodes in order to offer the most advanced, efficient and comprehensive infrastructure and services in the region.”
According to Mr. Jerry Rickcord, ACT CEO, Intermodal formed a vital platform for the sole container terminal in the Kingdom to showcase its world-class services and state-of-art technology it uses in container handling. "The message we were communicating in the forum is that ACT is one of the professional and leading terminals in the region that was due to the huge investment allocated to uplift and enhance its performance and services," Rickcord added.
"The exchange of experience that took place at the fair helped us in expanding our view of international markets as well as develop new ideas and opportunities leading to a comprehensive development in many areas," concluded Rickcord.
It is worth mentioning that in year 2001, ASEZ was inaugurated as a liberalized, low tax, duty free and multi-sector development Zone, the ASEZ is part of Jordan's assertive reform strategy to provide investors, from all over the world, with an attractive business environment.
Strategically located on the cross roads between three continents and four countries, ASEZ covers an area of 375 Km2 encompassing the total Jordanian coastline (27 km), the sea-ports of Jordan, an international airport ,operating under an Open Skies airport policy, and the historical city of Aqaba with a population of around 100,000 people.
On the other hand, ADC was launched at the beginning of 2004 by ASEZA and the Government of Jordan, as a new private sector corporation to be the central development body for ASEZ. Ownership of Jordan’s ports, the city’s international airport and strategic parcels of land as well as the development rights for these assets and key infrastructure and utilities has been transferred to ADC. ADC’s objectives are to develop and manage these strategic assets of the zone to unlock and leverage value from this asset base.
ACT is the only Jordanian container terminal. It is a major gateway for the Jordanian market, as well as for transit cargo moving to and from other countries in the region. In 2006, a 25 year contract was signed between ADC and APM Terminals International, one of the world’s largest operators of container terminals, agreeing that APM Terminals will operate, manage and market ACT.
ACT is committed to providing a world class facility for its customers, and continuously looks for further enhancements and developments. This has already resulted in a number of upgrades to the facility and its equipment.
