For the second consecutive year Aqaba Container Terminal releases its sustainability report

Press release

Published July 14th, 2013 - 07:45 GMT

Al Bawaba

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), the world’s gateway to Jordan and beyond, announced the release of its second sustainability report, titled, “The Most Sustainable Gateway to Jordan and Beyond”, achieving an application level “B” for transparency and disclosure based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Check.

The sustainability report covers six focus areas including: safety and security, operational efficiency, environmental impact, employees’ engagement, supporting the community, and financial performance. ACT sustainability framework promotes sound environmental and social practices combined with positive economic impact to encourage transparency and accountability.

The report further highlights ACT’s steady growth which was reflected in 2012 end of year figures translating into a 15.8% increase in total throughput, 2% increase in transit, and 14.5% increase in imports, in comparison to year end 2011. In addition, the terminal’s expansion project which included an increase in the berth length by 460 meters, making it one of ACT’s significant accomplishments.

“We are very proud to release the second edition of our comprehensive sustainability report,” commented ACT’s Chairman, H.E. Dr. Kamel Mahadin. “We believe that this report will serve as a roadmap for long term operational success and sustainability. To us, advancement can only be achieved through maintaining the satisfaction of our stakeholders; the traditional and the non-traditional ones”. From his end ACT’s interim CEO. Donovan Bub commented “We understand the crucial role the terminal plays locally and regionally, and therefore we have committed ourselves to maintaining overall sustainability in all areas of our operations at ACT.”

The report also reviewed operations between the years 2011 and 2012, focusing on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the progress of the terminal. It provides a full analysis of data ranging from the percentage of total waste recycled to employee training.

Consequently the total percentage of waste recycled was recorded to be 76.21% in December 2012 compared to 5.4% for the corresponding period in 2011. Furthermore, the total amount of community investment in Aqaba reached a total of hours 5000 in 2012 compared to hours 2000 in 2011. The report also took note of ACT’s LTIFR which reduced by almost 50% compared to 2011, and the total investment made in employee training reached a total of JD 241,000 in 2012 which translates into an over 100% increase in value when compared to corresponding results from 2011.

ACT is a joint venture between Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) and APM Terminals, one of the world's leading container terminal operators, operating a 25-year build-operate- transfer agreement signed in 2006.

Background Information

Aqaba Container Terminal

In 2003, the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), on behalf of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, was on a mission to acquire a strategic partnership to improve the efficiency, capacity and the operational performance of the container terminal in Aqaba. After signing a Terminal Management Contract with ADC in 2004, APM Terminals (part of the global A.P. Møller–Maersk Group), took over the management and operation of the terminal.

A 25-year Joint Development Agreement (JDA) was signed between ADC and the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) in 2006. Under the contract, APM Terminals Jordan operates, manages and markets ACT in addition to executing the Master Plan, which anticipates achieving a drastic increase of throughput capacity through a combination of physical and operational improvements.