Abu Dhabi:The opening of terminal 3 at Jebel Ali sea port towards the end of 2014 would enable the port handle 10 ultra large container carriers (ULCCs) simultaneously and take its overall capacity to 19 million TEUs a year from 14 million at present, a top DP World official said yesterday.

Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman, DP World told reporters on the sidelines World Ports & Trade Summit in Abu Dhabi that the opening of terminal 3 at Jebel Ali would give the port 4 million TEUs of additional handling capacity while the ongoing expansion of terminal 2, which would get completed by the end of the first half of 2013 would add 1 million TEU annual capacity.

“The terminal 3 would come equipped with 19 ship-to-shore gantry cranes and 45 rail-mounted cranes,” said Bin Thaniah.

DP World is investing $850 million towards the construction of terminal 3 at Jebel Ali port, the largest sea port outside Asia and by far the largest between Rotterdam and Singapore. Last year, the Jebel Ali port handled 13.3 million TEUs.

Thaniah said globally, there are some critical issues facing the maritime industry, largely triggered by the economic slowdown in the U.S. and the European Union.

“There are some strong headwinds ahead of us. The 2008-2010 period saw a decent growth in the maritime industry, but unfortunately, it was not sustainable,” he added.

However, Al Thaniah added that despite the slow down elsewhere, the Middle East ports should continue to be on the growth path over the next 10 years given the massive investment which has been pumped into building the infrastructure in the region.

“There are $2.5 trillion worth of projects in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Middle East region,” said Al Thaniah, adding that this would enable sea ports to utilise their capacity and encourage the development of new capacity in the region.

DP World operates over 60 terminals across six continents, with container handling generating around 80 per cent of its revenue. In addition, the company currently has 11 new developments and major expansions underway in 9 countries.

In 2012, DP World handled more than 56 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) across its portfolio from the Americas to Asia. With a pipeline of expansion and development projects in key markets, including India, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, capacity is expected to rise to around 103 million TEU by 2020, in line with market demand.