The dust had barely settled on another round of regional tensions when the papers were signed. On 22 July, in a room heavy with the quiet weight of consequence, DP World and the Fujairah Ports Authority put their names to an agreement in principle. A 50-year concession to build and run two new terminals on the eastern seaboard of the United Arab Emirates. Not rhetoric. Not another study. Concrete, steel, and time.
Al Rugaylat will handle containers and multipurpose cargo. Dibba will focus on general cargo. Between them they will add real muscle: up to 2.5 million TEUs a year at Al Rugaylat, another 1.7 million tonnes of general cargo and 190,000 car equivalent units. Dibba brings a further 3.6 million tonnes of annual general cargo capacity. When the dust of construction clears, DP World’s total container handling inside the UAE will rise from 19.4 million TEUs to nearly 22 million.
Construction is slated to take 24 to 30 months, delivered in phases. The new terminals will sit on the Gulf of Oman side, deep-water berths capable of receiving the latest generation of ultra-large container vessels. They will link back to Jebel Ali through the company’s inland logistics network and integrate with Jafza. A practical bypass for trade that no longer wishes to thread the needle of the Strait of Hormuz.
I have watched enough supply chains seize up under pressure to recognise the pattern. One chokepoint becomes a pressure point, then a crisis. Nations that can afford to do something about it usually do. The UAE has chosen infrastructure over dependence. Private expertise and state authority have met here not in grand declaration but in the patient work of expanding options.
The partnership with DP World marks an important milestone in Fujairah’s continued development as one of the region’s most important maritime gateways. The Al Rugaylat and Dibba terminals will bring world-class operating capability, expanded capacity and new investment to the emirate. We look forward to working with DP World to deliver a project that will benefit customers, communities and the UAE’s wider economy.
Those were the words of H.H. Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohamed Al Sharqi, chairman of the Fujairah Ports Authority, released with the announcement. The agreement itself was reached in the presence of the Crown Prince of Fujairah. No theatre, just the steady calculus of long-term resilience.
H.E. Essa Kazim, chairman of DP World, put it plainly: the UAE has been at the heart of the company’s story for more than four decades. This investment reflects confidence in its future as a leading trade and logistics hub. Building on Jebel Ali, it deepens commitment and reinforces the country’s strategic role.
