Dubai: The UAE deepened its growing relationship with the Mediterranean state of Malta with Horizon Terminals, a subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), saying Friday it will build a terminal for its products there.
The terminal is located near the Marsaxlokk Port and will have a capacity of 600,000 cubic metres of black and clean products, with one jetty for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and two for vessels up to 120,000 DWT, or dreadweight tonnage.
The company did not provide details of the amount of investment it will make in the terminal.
“The move makes sense geographically and positions Horizon at the gateway into Europe and North Africa,” Kate Dourian, Middle East Editor at energy information provider Platts, told Gulf News.
Malta is a hub for shipping lines, being located at the crossroads of some of the world’s busiest routes that carry over 120 million tonnes of oil products.
“I also think this is part of a longer-term strategy. Demand is flat in Europe at the moment and refineries are either cutting back or shutting down. Horizon will probably stock up on products until the market improves,” Dourian said.
Horizon said is in the process of obtaining the necessary permits for its Malta terminal. According to the company’s plans, work on site will commence in the second half of 2011.
Saeed Abdullah Khoory, ENOC’s Group Chief Executive, believes the new terminal “will consolidate Horizon’s position as a leading global terminal operator”. The company manages more than 5 million cubic metres of storage with a network of seven bulk liquid terminals in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Morocco, Singapore and South Korea.
“ENOC’s investment in this facility through Horizon reiterates our confidence in Malta as a strong business model and as our gateway to the European market,” Khoory said in a statement.
The UAE has a long-standing business relationship with Malta, going back to 2006 when the two nations signed a treaty to avoid double taxation.
Dubai-based Tecom Investments is in the process of building SmartCity Malta, its first overseas business park, with an initial investment of $300 million. SmartCity Malta will comprise 12,000 square metres of intelligent office space and will be home to international, regional and local Maltese ICT and media companies.
Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company said earlier this year that SR Technics, the Zurich-based provider of airline services in which it acquired a controlling stake last year, will build maintenance hangars in Malta.
