Jebel Ali port's Terminal Two will open this month

Dubai Ports World, the fourth largest port operator in the world, will see its Terminal Two at Jebel Ali port development completed by the end of this month.

The terminal will increase the port's capacity by five million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), bringing the total to 14 million TEUs. "Our long-term vision to expand the port continues. We have to keep adapting ourself. Our mission is to expand but also to optimise," said Anwar Wajdi, senior vice-president of corporate strategy, Dubai Ports World, at a Ports Development conference. By 2012, the company's new port at Taweelah will also be coming online. The current economic crisis has led the company to re-evaluate its strategy of international expansion. "We must re-visit our strategies for sustainable growth," Wajdi said. He also said that the company is assessing the speed at which investments are made but that no options are completely written off. "Plans could change by the minute. If things speed up, we will go ahead with expansion plans full throttle. But as the market demand slows down, our plans will slow down," he said. During the Gulf War, as well as the September 11 attacks, trade volumes continued to grow, he said. The current financial crisis however has brought growth down to single digits from almost 25 per cent.

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