The CMA CGM Group and AD Ports Group have agreed to expand their jointly-owned container terminal at Khalifa, which has been open for less than a year, due to stronger-than-expected demand.

CMA Terminals Khalifa Port, in which CMA CGM a 70 percent stake and AD Ports 30 percent, has seen its throughput rapidly grow since it started operations in December 2024. The partners will AED420 million (about $115 million) in the next phase of expansion, in line with their shareholding.

The project, which is planned completion in early 2028, will increase the terminal’s capacity by nearly 50 percent, from 1.8 million TEU to 2.7 TEU. The move will bring the total capacity of Khalifa Port to 10.5 million TEU, an increase of about 9 percent.

Saif Alrouei, CEO of Ports Cluster at AD Ports, said the deal underscored the momentum at the port and Abu Dhabi’s efforts to strengthen its position in trade. Christine Cabau, senior vice president of operations and asset execution at CMA CGM, said the terminal reached full capacity operation in less than 10 months, prompting partners to bring forward the second phase.

The expansion will add 400 meters to the existing 800-meter terminal, and yard space will increase by than 40 percent. The upgraded systems and infrastructure, including new racks for reefer boxes, are planned to support the growing volume of refrigerated cargoes.

halifa Port has become a key transshipment hub in the region, climbing the rankings. The operational performance has kept pace with growth: in the third quarter of 205, the ports handled by the group’s portfolio increased by 20 percent year-on-year, while CMA Terminals Khalifa Port approached 1 million TE on a full-year basis, with a utilization rate of 87 percent.

The expansion drive also follows another agreement struck in November, when AD Ports purchased a20 percent stake in the Syrian Latakia International Container Terminal for AED810 million (US$220 million). The Abu Dhabi operator manage the facility alongside CMA CGM, which handled more than 95 percent of Syria’s container business and plans to expand capacity from 250,00 TEU to 625,000 TEU by 2026.