JORDAN's Port of Aqaba is promoting itself as the "smartest, safest way in and out of Iraq" as well as pitching itself to Saudi shippers ahead of the completion of its US$235 million, two million-TEU capacity terminal to be completed next year.

The Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) aims to absorb demand from the Middle East and North Africa, estimated to grow 4.2 per cent annually, operations chief Amin Kawar told the UK's Port Technology International. Volume is already up 63 per cent on last year, he said.

ACT's anticipation of Iraq's recovery is supported by the International Monetary Funds conclusion that the Iraqi economy is on track to expand 11.1 per cent this year and 13.5 per cent in 2013.

Growth potential at ACT rests on trade with neighbouring countries that border Jordan, Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as "an efficient, cost-effective option for businesses" and in the "long-term, sustainable element in their supply chain," said ACT chief executive Soren Hansen.

At a Mideast trade conference, Mr Hansen emphasised the advantages provided to shippers by Aqaba, describing Jordan's only port as "an efficient, cost-effective option for businesses moving cargo throughout the Levant".

The Aqaba Container Terminal is a joint venture between Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), the Jordanian government's development arm for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, and APM Terminals, which manages the facility. The management contract runs until 2031.