5 minute read
Opinion
PIONEERING DRONE LOGISTICS
A new partnership will trial a new initiative that could provide comprehensive aerial drone delivery for Abu Dhabi
Maqta Gateway, the digital arm of AD Ports Group, Emirates Post Group and SkyGo will collaborate on a trial programme that will deploy aerial drones to carry parcels and documents to specifi ed Emirates Post sites across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
”Drone services could enable greater convenience and faster delivery times for customers across Abu Dhabi, while ensuring a positive environmental impact,” said Dr Noura Al Dhaheri, CEO, Maqta Gateway, AD Ports Group.
“Margo Hub is a state-of-the-art integrated digital marketplace for all logistics needs, from trucking and warehousing through to the last mile and express delivery, so the expansion into drone services is a seamless extension.”
Sustainable logistics
Beginning with short-range journeys, the programme will expand to long-range tests with an increased capacity to assess demand and understand the wider benefits.
The objective is to provide a sustainable, user-friendly service that can carry vital medical supplies, fresh foods, and urgent documents rapidly, while providing real-time tracking.
Maqta Gateway will deploy its integrated digital marketplace, Margo Hub, to facilitate online transactions between customers and Emirates Post Group, which in turn will manage the service and provide tracking and status updates, while SkyGo provides the drone solutions.
Details of the trial programme will be released in due course, with a full commercial offering planned for launch in the next year, pending approval.
8 Drone services could enable
greater convenience and faster delivery times for customers
Global logistics hub
In 2022, AD Ports Group continued its drive to position Abu Dhabi at the frontier of world trade, by improving and expanding its logistics and services for customers.
Notably, the group has built new strategic relationships within the region and beyond, which has enabled it to open new trade corridors between the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, East Africa, and Central Asia.
“Throughout 2022, AD Ports Group has demonstrated its consistent efforts to evolve the services we offer to customers, while supporting Abu Dhabi’s aims to be a leading global hub for trade and logistics,” said H.E. Falah Mohammad Al Ahbabi, chairman, AD Ports Group.
“As we work to further develop infrastructure across assets in the UAE and beyond, our objective is to position the company as a global enabler that supports industrial growth and contributes to our
Photo: SkyGo
8 The drone collaboration with Emirates
Post Group and SkyGo is playing a key role in supporting AD Ports Group’s ambition to become a global logistics hub
leaders’ strategic aims to diversify the UAE economy.”
Major acquisitions
As already discussed, the group’s digital subsidiary, Maqta Gateway, played a key role in supporting AD Ports Group’s international expansion in multiple areas, to include its drone collaboration with Emirates Post Group and SkyGo.
But major acquisitions have also played a key role in AD Ports Group’s growth story in 2022. The company completed its first international acquisition in September, acquiring a 70% stake in Egypt’s Transmar and TCI.
This followed with agreements to acquire an 80% stake in Global Feeder Shipping (GFS), which will see the group significantly expand its fleet and container capacity, along with a 100% stake in Spain’s Noatum, a global logistics giant.
Upon completion, these transformational investments will consolidate AD Ports Group’s position as a market leader across multiple industries, operating ports and terminals around the world, with a fleet of 175 vessels, a feeder container capacity of around 100,000 teu and a global logistics brand.
RESPONSIBLE MARINE CONSTRUCTION
In this article, GreenPort talks to Dr Ido Sella, co-founder and CEO of ECOncrete on how construction projects are becoming more sustainable
Photo: ECOncrete
There is an urgent need for marine infrastructure construction projects to ensure a more sustainable outcome.
With the majority of human population residing along coastlines and the intensive process of coastal armoring due to increased storminess and prediction to sea level rise, an increased focus should be given to the neutral marine resources.
Concrete structures and coastal development can be incredibly damaging to marine life and to natural habitats and more must be done by waterfronts asset owners to ensure the regeneration and protection of native marine life.
Global marine biodiversity is under threat from many human causes. The extinction of one species, or one micro ecosystem, has cascading impacts that can ultimately affect the entire food web. Coastal waters are one of the most highly productive ecosystems in the marine environment and as such, provides a range of ecosystem services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, nursery grounds and primary production.
Therefore, it is in our own vested interest to promote responsible construction methods that will allow marine infrastructure such as ports, breakwaters and urban waterfronts to support the development of balanced and healthy marine life.
New standards
ECOncrete is looking to set new standards in responsible marine construction.
Our technology allows concrete infrastructure to provide a range of ecosystem services by supporting the development of marine life on them. ECOncrete’s patented technology modifies the local concrete and making it friendly to the environment, as well as creating the spaces needed for marine organisms to develop and grow.
ECOncrete technology has been tested and validated in a variety of marine conditions and shown success in temperate, tropical and estuarine ecosystems. Across studies and projects, the technology has shown to increase biodiversity, reduce the dominance of invasive species by promoting native ones and generate an active carbon sink through the growth of marine life. The technology, ecological and structural performance have been documented in various peer-reviewed scientific papers.
The technology also promotes bio protection thereby bettering the durability and longevity of structures by the growth of organisms like oysters, barnacles, tube worms and coral, which adhere to the concrete.
In addition, it can be integrated into any concrete made coastal and marine infrastructure and shift them to promote biodiversity rather than damaging it. It is the only environmental concrete technology that is integrated directly into the construction process of marine infrastructure, making them promote ecosystem services while servicing their original purposes.
We provide our clients with a technology that allows them to use local materials and local work force and to construct their waterfront to service both human activities and nature at the same time.
ECOncrete’s bio-enhancing technologies have been developed so that they can be easily implemented into standard manufacturing methods in a cost-effective and scalable manner. It’s based on an admixture and unique
8 ECOncrete
