State-owned ports operator DP World will develop the proposed facility in Fujairah, which lies outside the Strait of Hormuz on the Gulf of Oman, Financial Times reported.
Dubai’s biggest and busiest port is Jebel Ali Port through which most of the UAE’s imports and exports pass. However, ships heading to Jebel Ali must first travel through the Strait of Hormuz. But it has become increasingly risky because of tensions and US’s ongoing war on Iran.
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Unlike Jebel Ali, Fujairah is located on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. This means that instead of sailing to Jebel Ali, cargo ships will unload containers at the new Fujairah port. The containers will then be transported by trucks to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Gulf countries.
Jebel Ali, the UAE’s largest port and a major global shipping hub, will continue to remain the country’s main port. DP World has said the new facilities are being developed as a backup to protect trade during future disruptions, not to replace Jebel Ali.
Before the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war, cargo traffic at Jebel Ali reportedly dropped by 90-95% after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted. DP World is also planning to expand facilities at Fujairah and improve infrastructure at other east coast ports, including Dibba and Khor Fakkan.
If approved, the new port could be completed in about 18 months, with an initial investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.
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The UAE’s plan to build an alternative port comes on the heels of the US hitting Iranian targets for the third night in a row. The US Central Command, the military’s regional command known as CENTCOM, said that it hit “military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas”, Al Jazeera reported.
The Iranian army retaliated, attacking US bases and targets in Kuwait, housing Patriot missile systems, fuel tanks, a watchtower, an ammunition depot and communication systems.
“Several weapons storage depots, a satellite communications centre, and a building housing US forces” at al-Juffair Base in Bahrain were also attacked, the IRGC said.
