business-data | Edakulathur Michael Johnson

Sharjah container volumes rise Staff Report Dubai: With more shipping lines and their customers using Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT), container volumes have increased significantly, according to the company that manages the terminal. In 2005, SCT handled more than 230,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), 24 per cent higher than the previous year, Gulftainer said. "In the last two years new record throughputs have been achieved," it added. Throughputs in 2006 so far are already considerably higher than those of 2005 for the same period. The January-April volumes rose 33 per cent over the corresponding period last year. "New records continue to be set each month and in April alone containers handled were 45 per cent higher than April 2005," said Gulftainer, which operates SCT and Khor Fakkan Container Terminal (KCT) on behalf of Sharjah Port Authority. "The remarkable econ-omic growth of the UAE has meant that many shippers and consignees now find that it is good to have a choice of container ports to cater for their specific needs dependent on their businesses and their locations in the country," Gulftainer operations manager Peter Richards said.