International Cargo Seaport: Port of Jebel Ali

Known as the largest port in the Middle East, Port of Jebel Ali offers logistic, storage, and cargo services and facilities in the Persian Gulf. It is also known as the largest man-made port globally and a frequent stop for US Navy ships outside the United States. Boasting over one million square meters of the container yard, Jebel Ali is undergoing continuous expansion to increase its capacity and surpass other busy ports like Singapore and Shanghai.

About the Port of Jebel Ali

The Port of Jebel Ali is located in Jebel Ali, 35 km away from Dubai. The port is a part of the Maritime Silk Road, a network of trade routes in the Asia-Pacific region. It serves trade and cargo ships that come through the the Chinese coast, India, the Mediterranean, the Upper Adriatic region, Europe, and the North Sea. Jebel Ali is also one of the ports that serve the ships that come through the Suez Canal.

Due to its location, Jebel Ali boasts 9,665 square meters of cool and cold storage facilities. They are equipped with the latest cooling facilities to store perishable cargos such as fresh produces, chocolate, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, cigarettes, and alcohol. The cool storage has a temperature range of 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, while the cold storage offers -29 to 13 degrees Celsius.

The History

Port of Jebel Ali was first constructed in the 1970s to support the operation of Port Rashid, a cruise terminal in Dubai. The construction effort was largely credited to Rashid bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, the second prime minister and the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. The port was officially opened on 26 February 1979, inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II.

The port initially covered 134 square km of area, with 67 berths and serving 5,000 companies from 120 countries. DP World, the company that operates the port, decided to expand the port when cargo ships that used the facility increased.

The first extension project for Terminal 2 started in 2005 and took up two years. It was continued in 2008 to expand the service ranges the port could offer. In 2007, the expansion process granted Jebel Ali the seventh biggest port in the world.

Volumes of Transaction in Port of Jebel Ali

In 2020, the Port of Jebel Ali completed 13.5 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo transactions worldwide. This number has increased in the first quarter of 2021, according to the report of DP World. The company has reported 18.9 million TEU of transaction volumes at global level, with Jebel Ali recording 3.5 million TEU until April 2021.

The increase in transaction volumes happened simultaneously with the rise of business in the surrounding regions. Notable regions that contributed to this volume increase included Asia Pacific, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. In total, there is 2.6 percent of the increase in volume transactions in the first quarter of 2021.

Currently, the Port of Jebel Ali has a benchmark of expanding the facilities into Terminal 4. When it is finished, the port will boost the total capacity of 22.4 million TEU. The Port of Jebel Ali is also a home of 7,000 companies, providing more than 144,000 jobs for local and international workers.