Schmidt ME breaks ground on Khalifa Port storage complex

Schmidt ME Logistics, the Germany-based transport-management company, broke ground on Wednesday on a new 226,000-square-foot facility in Abu Dhabi’s flagship Khalifa Port, which handles most of the city’s deepwater-container ship traffic.

The company specializes in handling dry bulk products, packaging and intermodal transportation of dry bulk products, and is expanding its capacity to cater to the dry petrochemical and mineral industries in the Gulf region.

The new complex, Schmidt ME’s second in the UAE, will include large warehouses to store dry material and provide product-handling services. After the warehouses are complete, the company plans to expand to include silos, truck-parking facilities and full road transport services. The final phase will see new management and cleaning services, a repair shop and a service station.

Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Abu Dhabi Ports CEO, said such new facilities are key for the region’s growing economy.

“Logistics connectivity and greater trade facilitation are, in essence, tools to further increase the nation’s prosperity,” Al Shamisi said. “The supply-chain connections available through Khalifa Port and the exceptional transport infrastructure allow investors to receive materials and reach customers and markets quickly, easily and cost effectively.”

The new dry bulk logistics center represents a capital investment of AED 20 million– about $5.4 million. The company’s primary export destinations are Saudi Arabia and Oman.