Dubai Jebel Ali port to invest $850m for capacity expansion

New facilities being planned at the Jebel Ali Port will be able to handle the next generation of mega container vessels giving Dubai’s supply chain industry an unprecedented advantage, said a top official. The new terminal, which will operate with the largest, most efficient quay cranes and have a draft of 17 meters, will be able to handle the world's largest container vessels planned for the future. DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has shared detailed plans to expand flagship Jebel Ali Port with around 150 of the company’s top trade and logistics customers in Dubai, underlining the port operator’s expansion plans are always driven by its customers. The additional capacity announced this week takes total capacity at the flagship port by 2014 to 19 million TEU (twenty foot equivalent container units).DP World will be investing around $850 million over three years adapting 1,860 meters of quayside and 70 hectares of yard from an existing general cargo berth into a new container terminal within the existing container port.The investment will be financed from existing cash resources and cash flow.“Our commitment to develop a new 4 million TEU terminal plus adding 1 million TEU capacity to our existing facility at Jebel Ali is in direct response to the feedback we have been receiving from customers,” the chairman said. “Our aim is to make it easy for our customers to do business. This in turn will support the economic growth of Dubai and the UAE and enhance the position of Dubai and the UAE as the commercial hub of the region,” said the chairman.Welcoming the supply chain executives, Mohammed Al-Muallem, senior vice president and managing director, DP World, UAE Region, said: “It is important that we meet our partners regularly and hear their thoughts about the future. Constantly improving efficiencies for the port users is at the core of our corporate philosophy. Our customers have already benefited from initiatives that have reduced man-hours, reduced truck turnaround time to 30 minutes and lowered fuel consumption. Our expansion plans are part of our commitment to deliver the high levels of efficiency that is the hallmark of DP World.”Al-Muallem added: "We have listened to our customers, who have told us that Jebel Ali continues to be both a gateway for cargo and a vital hub for facilitating trade growth throughout the region, and needs to be able to handle the new generation of mega vessels.  In response, we are creating new container handling capacity to meet those needs, offering the efficient and cost effective services our customers have come to rely on.  In doing so, we are also creating around 1,000 jobs directly at the new terminal."