$33 billion Middle East port expansion underway

Dubai: Gulf neighbours challenge dominance of Dubai's Jebel Ali - one of the world's biggest container ports - with major building programs.

Massive economic growth is driving major seaport expansion in the Middle East worth in excess of $33 billion to handle record volumes of containers and bulk cargoes. "The emergence of strong and diversified maritime companies and operators is making the Middle East, and the Arabian Gulf in particular, one of the most dynamic and vibrant international maritime centres in the world," said Christopher Hayman, Managing Director of Seatrade, organizers of Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2008. According to the most up-to-date data on new seaport developments or expansions from research company Proleads, which monitors all major regional construction, there are currently around 50 such projects valued at more than $33 billion across the Middle East with individual budgets ranging from $10 million to $5.5 billion. The region is home to one of the world's largest container ports in Dubai's Jebel Ali, which currently handles around 11 million twenty-foot equivalent container units a year. The biggest seaport being planned is Qatar's New Mesaieed Port ($5.5 billion), heading a top ten of new or expansion port projects. Middle East port operators are not only expanding in the region. Dubai's DP World, the fourth largest port and terminal operator worldwide, is expanding operations across the Indian subcontinent, Far East, Europe, the Americas, Australia as well as the Middle East.
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