Aqaba Container Terminal wins Jordanian National Workplace Health and Safety Award
The Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), the Kingdom of Jordan’s primary port, has been named the winner of the Workplace Safety and Health Award by the Jordanian Social Security Corporation. The achievement was recognised at a ceremony in Amman on March 29th sponsored by the Jordanian Minister of Labor and Board Chairman of the Social Security Corporation, Dr. Nidal Qatamin, who was represented at the event by the Social Security Corporation’s Director General, Nadia Al Rawabdah. The award was bestowed upon ACT for exceeding all health and safety standards and benchmarks established by the relevant Jordanian national authorities.
ACT reduced health and safety-related incidents by nearly one third between 2014 and 2015, registered a 32% decline in workplace accidents, while safety checks and observations were increased by 13% over the same period as new risk management procedures have been put into place.
“We at ACT are proud to have once again received this distinction for outstanding safety performance” said ACT CEO Jeppe Jensen, adding “Winning this honor, especially in the presence of so many strong, competitive Jordanian companies and organizations, reflects the seriousness and diligence with which ACT takes its commitment to upholding health and safety standards in the workplace.”
The port facility, located on the Red Sea, performs numerous inspections and evaluations, to identify and resolve potential work hazards. ACT employees undergo regular training on a comprehensive array of health and safety issues, in preparation to handle any health or safety emergency.
“As a part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, ACT is committed to complying with the most rigorous standards and practices in our industry; by going above and beyond local standards for workplace health and safety, our goal is to continuously improve ACT’s safety performance standards based upon international standards, and with the industry’s best practices,” stated ACT Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) Department Head, Feras Al Taweil.
ACT is a joint venture between the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), the Jordanian Government’s development arm for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, and APM Terminals, which manages the facility. A terminal expansion project completed in October 2013 added 460 meters to the existing quay to create a total quay length of 1 km, increasing the annual container throughput capacity to 1.3 million TEUs. Container throughput in 2015 was 767,000 TEUs.
“As the Kingdom’s primary gateway and a crucial hub for business and commerce, it is important for us to lead by example, not only for the sake of our reputation locally, regionally, and internationally, but to support the transformation of Aqaba into a strategic regional and international center for business and commerce,” added Mr. Jensen.