School bags crafted from plane parts
Supporting children’s education and making meaningful connections within the communities it serves, Emirates has engaged with six entities across Africa to provide more than 1,300 handmade school bags and essential stationery supplies to young students.
Each school bag is a piece of history — a limited-edition bag from Emirates’ ‘Aircrafted’ range, made from the fabrics and parts of its aircraft.
The distribution across Africa kickstarts a larger initiative by the airline to repurpose and upcycle materials for children across the globe.
In Zimbabwe, it collaborated with St Marcellin’s Children’s Village Trust and Rose of Sharon; in Zambia, with the Kucetekela Foundation; and in Ethiopia, with Bravehearts Ethiopia.
Its Emirates Airline Foundation has a long history of supporting children’s welfare programmes, and ‘Aircrafted Kids’ is an extension of this work, says a release.
Port of Salalah adds 2 mn TEU capacity
Port of Salalah, operated by AP Maersk Terminals, has invested $300 million in expanding facilities to cater to the new network under the Gemini Cooperation forged by Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk.
The investment covers upgrades to all six existing berths and the expansion of yard capacity from 4.5 million TEU to 6.5 million, seeking to cement Port of Salalah’s position as a key hub in the region, with access to West Asia, the Indian subcontinent and East Africa.
APM Terminals has also invested in a new access road, a new electrical power substation and electrical network upgrade, and reefer expansion of 2,000 reefer plugs.
Capacity at the port will be lifted by new equipment, including 10 new STS cranes with capability to handle ultra large vessels that are 26-container wide; 12 hybrid rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes; two reach stackers; six empty container handlers; and 30 terminal trucks and trailers, says a media release.
