Dubai: Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, chairman, DP World, officially opened the new extension to Container Terminal 2 (T2) at Jebel Ali Port, welcoming one of the largest container ships afloat, the MSC La Spezia.
A red carpet welcome was given to the 366-metre-long vessel, which has 14,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) capacity.
The ceremony was attended by Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, vice chairman, Mohammad Sharaf, group CEO, Mohammad Al Muallem, senior vice-president and managing director, DP World, UAE region, and other senior DP World officials.
The expansion adds 1 million TEU to take capacity at Jebel Ali Port to 15 million TEU, extending the T2 quay wall by 400 metres to 3,000 metres. This allows the simultaneous handling of six mega ships.
Together with Container Terminal 3, which is now under construction, Jebel Ali Port will reach 19 million TEU capacity by 2014 and will be able to handle 10 of the giant new generation vessels at the same time — the only port in the region able to do so.
With an average monthly throughput in excess of 1 million TEU over the past two years, Jebel Ali Port continues to be under pressure with larger vessels and a larger proportion of cargo destined for or originating from this market. The new T3 will be one of the finest modern marine terminals in the world, with a quay length of 1,860 metres, a 70 hectare storage yard and a draft of 17 metres.
Once completed, the new terminal will create more than 1,000 jobs directly.
