DP World pulls Fujairah port build-out forward by six months

DP World has cut six months off its timeline for two Fujairah port developments worth around AED 2.5 billion, with phased operations now set to begin within 18 to 24 months instead of the earlier 24-to-30-month estimate. The acceleration comes as the UAE pushes alternative routing for cargo normally moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

Under a 50-year concession, DP World will develop the Al Rugaylat container and multipurpose terminal, near Fujairah International Airport, and the Dibba General Cargo terminal on the east coast.

What will the new terminals handle?

• Al Rugaylat: roughly 2.5 million TEUs per year, 1.7 million tonnes of general cargo and 190,000 car equivalent units, with berths able to take the latest generation of ultra-large container ships.
• Dibba: up to 3.6 million tonnes of general cargo capacity a year for conventional freight and vehicles.

Together, the two facilities would lift DP World's UAE container capacity from 19.4 million TEUs to almost 22 million TEUs — an increase of about 2.5 million TEUs, equivalent to adding another mid-sized Jebel Ali-class terminal to the national network. Both sites will connect to Jebel Ali and the Jebel Ali Free Zone through the company's inland logistics network, so cargo can enter through whichever east coast port best suits its final destination, with or without full restoration of Hormuz transit.

The build-out extends a workaround DP World has already run at scale. Between early March and the end of October, the company moved more than one million TEUs by truck and rail from east coast ports to Jebel Ali and domestic markets — cargo entering outside the Strait and travelling overland to Dubai for customs clearance, storage and distribution.

How resilient was the Gulf network?

Shehab Mohamad Aljasmi, Chief Commercial Officer for Ports and Terminals at DP World GCC, said Jebel Ali stayed open throughout the crisis, with operations limited for just six hours since it began. DP World assembled a trucking fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles — 700 of them company-owned — and about 3,500 TEUs now move daily through land corridors linked via Sohar and Duqm in Oman and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. It also opened the Jebel Ali Rail Terminal and a 100,000 square metre empty-container depot at Al Awir.

Government coordination moved unusually fast. Dubai Customs and Oman Customs activated a Green Corridor within 72 hours, allowing sealed trucks to carry containers directly to Jebel Ali under customs control. That corridor facilitated trade worth around AED 34 billion between 1 March and 30 June — roughly four months' worth of commerce routed around a closed strait.

When does Jebel Ali return to normal?

DP World expects services and volumes at Jebel Ali — 19.4 million TEUs of annual capacity, more than 80 weekly services and 15.6 million TEUs handled in 2025 — to recover within one to three months once safe passage resumes. Meetings with nine shipping lines in Asia showed interest in returning, though the pace depends on how quickly operators reposition vessels and rebuild networks. A three-month reactivation window is a company projection, not a guarantee; vessel repositioning schedules remain outside DP World's control.

The disruption has not dented the wider estate. The Jebel Ali Free Zone, home to more than 12,000 companies across about 57 square kilometres, attracted over AED 1 billion in new investment in the first half of 2026. Occupancy stands above 90% overall — 94% for land and 99% for warehouses — with office occupancy at a ten-year high.

Elsewhere, the South Container Terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port set cargo records in July and October after expansion to four million TEUs of annual capacity, and the US$250 million Jeddah Logistics Park is due to open in the first quarter of 2027. Development continues at the Al Rawdah Special Economic Zone near the Oman-UAE border, and DP World reports no major regional investment suspended.

Going forward, the company is prioritising permanent cross-border transport connections, faster customs information exchange and pre-agreed procedures so alternative routes can be activated faster in future disruptions — a structural shift toward multiple gateways for UAE trade rather than reliance on a single maritime chokepoint.