The road to transformation is paved with technology, innovation and human enterprise. Transformation is no longer an alien word for the marine terminal industry, and for a global player like DP World it is a process that began 36 years ago when the world’s largest man-made harbour emerged from the sands of Jebel Ali.
It was a technological feat unmatched then and admired since, setting new benchmarks as a container port and a commercial gateway for a region stretching from the Indian subcontinent to East Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The business model created by Jebel Ali as an integrated port and logistics hub is being replicated today across DP World’s global portfolio, and emulated elsewhere by emerging economies.
For Dubai’s port planners investing in the most sophisticated technology available was never an option. In 1972, seven years before Jebel Ali, Port Rashid launched Dubai’s ambitious ports business as the region’s most modern container terminal facility. Before 2015 ends, Jebel Ali’s Terminal 3 (T3) will be completed and showcased as one of the most sophisticated container terminals on the planet.
A new dawn
T3, is a mammoth 4 million TEU, semi-automated terminal spread over 720,000 square metres that towers over the port’s landscape. It has been built on an old general cargo and there were more than a few heavy hearts when it was decided to demolish the iconic old Control Tower as part of the development…
