Dubai’s DP World awards Jebel Ali port expansion contracts

DP World has signed two contracts for construction work at its new container terminal on a reclaimed island at Jebel Ali, the port operator said in a statement Wednesday without mentioning a value for the deals.

In the first phase of the project, Dutco Balfour Beatty LLC (DBB) will develop an operational yard area with a quay length of 1,200 meters. Meanwhile, BAM International Abu Dhabi will build a 400 meter bridge, adjacent causeways and the quay wall.

“By 2018, Terminal 4 will raise the capacity of TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) by 3.1 million, bringing up the port total capacity to 22.1 million TEU,” Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman and chief executive officer, said.

In the second phase, DP World is planning to further expand the terminal capacity to 7.8 million TEU in line with market demand, with an additional operational yard and a quay that will be built by DBB, Bin Sulayem added.

Terminal 4 will operate as a dedicated container operation, including storage of full, reefer and empty containers using modern container handling equipment.

DP World’s Jebel Ali and other local terminals handled 15.6 million TEU last year.