UAE ports are preparing to deal with the demand for container facilities following a boom in world trade and local businesses.

Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) has recorded a 24 per cent growth in cargo throughput for the first 11 months of 2004 and is en route to handle 6.4 million teu by the end of 2005, said Anwar Ahmad Wajdi, executive director of DPA.
In 2003 it recorded a 23 per cent growth in containerised cargo traffic, reaching 5.15 million teu over the previous year’s 4.1 million teu. DPA, executing a Dh4.2 billion four-phased expansion under a Masterplan, is mobilising resources for the second phase of the expansion.
“Phase 1 of the masterplan is almost complete and we are currently working on the second phase of the expansion,” Wajdi said at the opening of the three-day Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition and conference.
DPA plans to increase capacity at Jebel Ali Port to 22 million teu per year by 2020;
Ras Al Khaimah has signaled its intention to develop a commercial hub on Al Hamra Island to raise the potential of Mina Saqr;
Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed recently upgraded its container terminal facilities to capture more direct box business into the port. The port built two 650-m-long container berths, adding six new post-panamax gantry cranes. There are now some 11 specialised cranes able to deal with various kinds of cargo.
Mina Zayed is centralising its administrative operations with the construction of a new office building.  Taking note of infrastructure improvements as well as the price structure, Mediterranean Shipping Company started calling at the port.
According to statistics available, Mina Zayed handled around 166,000 teu in the first eight months of 2004, up 44 per cent compared with the same period in 2003.  With better facilities, port officials are hopeful of gaining additional business, particularly in container traffic.
The port currently has 21 berths with water depths varying from 9.5 to 15 m. Facilities offered to container lines include free storage of full containers for 30 days, compared to 10 to 20 days at other ports, as well as free storage of 100 empty containers for up to three months. In addition to the physical infrastructure, Mina Zayed is carrying out an intensive training programme in various departments.The development of ports has assumed importance with all the country’s emirates preparing plans to increase manufacturing and trading activities as a means to diversifying the economy away from dependence on oil.