AMMAN -- Clearance of goods at the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) is gradually going back to normal after weeks of running beyond capacity due to a backlog of containers.
The recent pressure on the terminal was due to an increase in cargo movement, in addition to the fact that many shipping companies switched to Aqaba as a safe port in the region, according to Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Kamel Mahadin, who is also chairman of ACT.
Mahadin indicated that ACT employees have been dealing with nearly 1,000 containers per day, a figure he described as a record high.
Mahadin was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying that there is no longer a waiting period for ships after they used to wait almost three days to be unloaded.
Earlier this month, Foodstuff Traders Association President Samer Jawabreh warned of a possible shortage in food supplies because of delays in clearance procedures by ACT.
But Ihab Rawashdeh, head of the ACT media and public relations department, attributed the backlog of containers at Aqaba Port to several factors such as a strike by customs department employees in July.
Rawashdeh said the Eid Al Fitr holiday was also to blame, because many importers did not work on clearing their goods from the port.
© Jordan Times 2013
