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*Abu Dhabi Cargo Village to expand

The Abu Dhabi Cargo Village is poised for a second phase expansion due to significant growth in trucking services, new airlines and demand for more space by cargo dealers.
The village handled 130,000 tonnes of freight in 2003 and this will more than double in the next five years, top officials of the Abu Dhabi Department of Civil Aviation said.
"Abu Dhabi has developed an international reputation as a regional truck and cargo hub providing strategic land to air and sea services. Capable of handling up to 200,000 tonnes of freight annually, the cargo terminal handled 130,000 tonnes in 2003," said Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation.

"The cargo village is expected to handle 350,000 tonnes per year in the next five years," he told Gulf News.

Abu Dhabi Cargo Village, a modern extension of the Abu Dhabi cargo terminal, was built for Dh18 million and became operational in mid-2003. Since then, it has played a major role in hubbing and transportation logistics in the region.
"A feasibility study is under way to expand the cargo village with a sizeable investment and management approval is awaited," said Raoul Najeeb Twal, cargo terminal manager at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

"There is demand for space from our existing tenants as well as from new ones to set up offices and warehouses in the cargo village. These can be accommodated in the phase-two expansion."

Apart from new airlines flying into Abu Dhabi, cargo throughput is expected to rise significantly in the coming years as Etihad Airways expands its route network.
Twal said Abu Dhabi was becoming a major trucking hub in the UAE. "We are seeing increased truck movement from the GCC into Abu Dhabi as well as from Abu Dhabi into other emirates."
DHL, one of the largest companies in the global cargo industry, has taken almost 50 per cent of the new cargo village and is considering to make it the trucking hub for the Middle East.
DHL handles an average of 250 trucks a month with an average tonnage of about 15,000 tonnes per month.

"Expert agencies in the business are increasingly using the cargo village and the AN124, one of the world's biggest cargo aircraft, has also been using the cargo village as a base."
(Source: Gulf News)