DP World has entered into a preliminary agreement with the Fujairah Ports Authority under a 50-year concession to construct the Al Rugaylat container and multi-purpose terminal alongside the Dibba general cargo terminal, according to a report by The Bangladesh Monitor citing Moody's Ratings.
Al Rugaylat is designed to handle up to 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 1.7 million tonnes of general cargo, and 190,000 car-equivalent units annually, with the ability to dock ultra-large container vessels. The Dibba terminal is planned to provide capacity for 3.6 million tonnes of general cargo per year. Together, the projects are projected to increase DP World's container handling capacity across the UAE by approximately 13%, growing from 19.4 million TEUs to nearly 22 million TEUs.
Moody's Ratings stated that Fujairah's location on the Gulf of Oman provides direct access to the Indian Ocean outside the Strait of Hormuz, establishing a second maritime gateway to ease congestion at Jebel Ali and safeguard UAE re-export traffic. The credit rating agency noted that shipping disruptions along the Strait of Hormuz since March have weighed on cargo volumes and revenues at Jebel Ali, adding that Fujairah's additional capacity could absorb close to half of Jebel Ali's current re-export trade. Alphaliner, cited via The Loadstar, noted that docking outside the Gulf allows vessels to discharge UAE cargo without passing through the strait.
DP World Group CEO Yuvraj Narayan stated that Jebel Ali is operating at high utilization, meaning the new terminals will provide cargo owners with greater flexibility and strengthen network-wide supply chain resilience. The Fujairah facilities are planned to connect to Jebel Ali Port and its free zone via DP World's inland transport network, facilitating overland freight transfers between the UAE's eastern and western coasts.
Sources
- The Bangladesh Monitor · 2026-10-17
