Aqaba Container Terminal, the preferred gateway to Jordan and beyond, recently celebrated Global Safety Day with a global awareness campaign under the theme of “Safety 24/7,” carrying out a number of activities for the employees, for the members of community of Aqaba, trucking companies, children and students of Aqaba. The Global Safety Day will also highlight the excellent support and collaboration received from the civil defense.

ACT initiated Global Safety Day by conducting a meeting between truck owners and representatives from the company to discuss the most important issues regarding the safety of truck drivers at the terminal, before taking the day’s participants on a tour of the terminal’s facilities, accompanied by a brief demonstration of ACT’s diverse operations and activities.

The day featured numerous activities that demonstrated ACT’s commitment to raising safety awareness among its employees and all external business partners and port users. Participants were able to witness how the emergency response plan is deployed in case of complex situations such as chemical leakage from container caused by a nearby fire. In cooperation with Aqaba Civil Defense, the practical exercise aimed at training ACT employees to act as fast, safely and efficiently as possible in dealing with potential emergency situations. The training was conducted in the presence of ACT employees and school students to enhance and promote a culture of safety among the local community.

Commenting on the occasion, Head of HSSE at ACT, Feras Al Taweil, said, “Our dedicated safety approach at ACT is what helps us maintain world-class safety standards, it’s now part of all our activities and our work can’t be done if not done safely. Through the Global Safety Day activities and awareness sessions, truck drivers will receive an unprecedented amount of information on how to improve the efficiency of their trucks, overcome issues while driving, and ensure the safe transportation of goods.”

Global Safety Day also included awareness sessions for private truck drivers concerning their safety inside and outside of the terminal, where they were provided with special reflective jackets designed for the event, in addition to brochures with information on how to be safe when driving on main roads and inside of the terminal.

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) recently published its sixth sustainability report, which received once again the coveted GRI certification to be the first terminal in the Middle East publishing its sustainability report based on the new modular structure by the Boston based Global Reporting Initiative, The GRI Standards. ACT remains the only company in Aqaba issuing GRI-certified sustainability report, and the only one of four flagship companies in the whole of Jordan.

The report highlights ACT’s constant care for the environment, its contribution to the local community through education and healthcare as well as its contribution to the local and the national economy of Jordan. A report of the Jordanian government that was issued in 2014, deemed ACT the most successful public-private partnership in its category (Build-Operate-Transfer).

The sustainability report also highlights another interesting achievement regarding the operational performance of the terminal, which demonstrated undeniable support to the export industry of Jordan when it most needed it. Indeed, when the border with Syria was suddenly closed in 2015, ACT redoubled efforts to serve the Jordanian export cargo which could not reach its traditional markets using the traditional land corridors anymore. ACT delivered an impressive 47% increase in export volumes and, this year again, witnessed a further 7% increase in export cargo.

The relocation of the cargo inspections outside of ACT also contributed to a noticeable 58% improvement in truck turnaround time compared to just 3 years ago.

Over the past ten years and on the national contribution level, the terminal’s total contributions to the national GDP amounted to JOD 653 million and 301 million to the government budget in taxes and royalties. Today, ACT’s average salary for blue collar workers is about 2.5 times higher than the national average of private sector worker in Jordan and ACT’s GDP contribution per worker is almost 4.4 times higher than the national GDP per worker in Jordan for 2015. 

Over the last decade, ACT created 8,234 years of direct employment and can pride itself of having today a strong Jordanian workforce representing no less than 99.5% of all employees.

ACT has often been referred to as an exemplary model of a Jordanian large-scale establishment operating under progressive leadership but ACT’s reputation today goes well beyond the Jordanian borders. Without naming them all, the most recent international awards and accolades that ACT received are: “Global Safety Performance Award” from APM Terminals, finalist to Lloyd’s List “Best Port Operator in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent” award, finalist to the “HPH Environment,” and finalist for the Lloyd’s List “Safety” Award.

Commenting on the occasion, ACT CEO Steven Yoogalingam said, “We at ACT reaffirm our dedication to remaining a strategic partner for Jordan’s national growth and development. By continuing to publish GRI-certified sustainability reports with such level of disclosure, we deliver on our promise to engage with our stakeholders with the highest level of transparency. The hard work of all our employees and the expertise of APM Terminals in developing and running the best ports in the world, have turned the terminal into the logistic and economic backbone of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, setting new benchmarks in the private and public sector. We are humbled by these achievements and are looking forward to working hard with all parties to make the next 10 years a period of robust economic development for the country. ”

ACT is a joint venture between APM Terminals and the Aqaba Development Corporation based on a 25-year build-operate-transfer agreement signed in 2006.

For more information, please visit ACT - https://www.act.com.jo/content/aqaba-container-terminal-releases-sixth-sustainability-report