A unique technical centre intended to diversify the service portfolio offered to customers has been unveiled by Abu Dhabi Ports and Autoterminal Barcelona.
The former is a master developer based in the United Arab Emirates, while the latter operates Khalifa Port’s advanced RoRo terminal.
The centre will offer customers an array of value-added services within the automotive market of the Middle East, including accessory fitting, onsite polishing, smart repairs, car washing and pre-delivery inspection.
In the near future, a refuelling service will also be added to the site, allowing vehicles to be fuelled before they depart from Khalifa Port.
The reduced cost of labour and transportation will benefit automotive importers as it will allow vehicles to be prepared for customers or to be put on display in showrooms without them having to go to a third-party facility beforehand.
The processing of motor vehicles via the port, including the new centre, will be done through the Carsys app, an automotive terminal management platform.
The app can be used in order to scan and log vehicles that pass through the facility, and can guarantee accurate reporting and ensure that all operations that are carried out on any vehicle are traceable.
The app, which was developed in-house, also allows for the real-time tracking of the movement of cars.
Autoterminal Khalifa Port has flourished within the marketplace while becoming an industry role model to emulate, according to Saif Al Mazrouei, the head of the Ports Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports.
Al Mazrouei credits the dedication of the team and their commitment to innovation as the reason for the port’s success and says that the culmination of the drive for improvement is the new centre, which offers customers many new benefits.
Autoterminal Khalifa Port offers pollution-free storage for as many as 15,000 vehicles in total.
The port is also able to provide automotive customers with multimodal solutions if they want to have cars imported to the UAE or have them distributed to Western India or East Africa from the Middle East.
The CEO of Autoterminal Khalifa Port, Pierre Algeo, agrees that customers will have many new opportunities because of the technical centre, furthering the port’s directive to become the primary automotive distribution hub for East Asia.
Clients will be able to use the centre to have any required modifications conducted before the final delivery, therefore improving cost savings and streamlining operations, Algeo adds.
The port is delighted to be able to provide this benefit within its own terminal and to be the first within the entire region to be able to do so, according to Algeo.
The CEO of Autoterminal Barcelona, Xavier Vázquez, says that the new centre is the result of more than 25 years of experience in the management of automotive port terminals and will push industry standards to newer heights.
Anyone who drives a vehicle in the UAE has to be covered by a basic form of third-party car insurance by law.