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Officials at the launch ceremony

Gulftrainer opens new cargo terminal in US

US, June 14, 2015

UAE-based Gulftainer, a leading independent port management and logistics company, has opened a new cargo terminal at Port Canaveral in Florida, US.

The Canaveral terminal officially opened for business on June 12, in the presence of more than 300 local, state, and national public officials, alongside leaders of business and trade across the Florida region, said a statement from the company.

The launch comes a year after Canaveral Port Authority signed a 35-year agreement with GT USA, the US arm of UAE-based global ports and logistics company Gulftainer, to operate and further develop the container and multipurpose cargo terminal.

GT USA is part of Gulftainer’s strategic vision to triple its global cargo capacity in the next ten years across five continents.

GT USA, which has established its headquarters at the Canaveral Port Authority offices, is expected to contribute more than $630 million to the local economy, creating 2,000 direct and indirect jobs when fully developed, said the statement.

It is a subsidiary of UAE-headquartered multinational Crescent Enterprises, which is also active in a number of other industry sectors.

The ceremony was attended by Yousef Al Otaiba, ambassador of the UAE to the US; Lana Nusseibeh, permanent representative of the UAE to the United Nations(UN); Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally‎, executive director of the International Trade Administration of the US Department of Commerce; and Richard Biter, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation.

Speaking at the launch, Jerry Allender, chairman at Canaveral Port Authority, said: “The UAE and the US have fostered great partnerships in trade, culture, and education. Today represents one example of our nations’ great partnership.”

The unveiling of new terminal and first container movements included the maiden call of the ‘CMA CGM Jamaica’, a 264-m container vessel with a capacity of 4,298 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) that berthed at the port, said the statement.
 
Al Otaiba said: “Bilateral trade between the UAE and US has grown almost 80 per cent since 2005. In fact, last year the US benefitted from a $19 billion trade surplus with the UAE, and was the largest market for US goods and services in the region.”

Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and chairman of Gulftainer’s executive board, said: “Container shipping is a $6 trillion industry that touches 95 per cent of the world’s manufactured goods, and we are determined to bring much more of that business to Port Canaveral in the months and years to come.”

The Canaveral Cargo Terminal, which begins operations with a TEU cargo capacity of 200,000 TEUs, has ambitious plans to triple capacity to 750,000 TEUs.

Peter Richards, chief executive officer at GT USA and managing director of Gulftainer Group, said the new facility is ready to get to work with two berths, two cranes and 20 acres of land already developed.

“In Gulftainer's partnership with the Canaveral Port Authority, it is our policy to partner with the entire community and we hope to make this a world-class container terminal servicing the Florida region, the nation and beyond,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: US | Florida | Gulftainer |

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