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Dubai Maritime Cluster “This study came out seven months ago and I am impressed how Dubai has already taken steps to address it, and that is one of the things that impresses me with this place, they make their mind up on where they want to go, and they go there.” – Geir Fuglerud, Area Manager,

Middle East and Africa at DNV GL

Credit: DNV GL strategic location. It is well positioned for the emerging mar-

Living in a Free Zone kets and there is huge growth potential for this region. “There One of the big success stories in the emirate is DP World and are a lot of positive developments in Saudi and that is posi- its Jebel Ali Port and associated free zone. The port itself is the tively impacting UAE as well,” he continues. “For all the tenth largest container port in the world. Its 102 ship to shore emerging trade towards the East Coast of Africa this is a very (STS) cranes handled 14.7m TEU in 2016 from 11,000 ves- good location to drive that from. For the maritime industry in sels. The facility has three terminals. Terminal one and two are general I think the future is bright. older facilities that are about to undergo upgrades to increase “If you look at the government, they are moving very quick- automation, while terminal three is already fully automated. ly. They seem to be moving quicker than other countries. But Terminal four is under construction and will be brought on line companies seem to be lagging a little bit behind, at least in the as market demand increases. That expansion will bring total maritime industry, but the big players are developing quickly handling capacity to 22.1m TEU by the end of this year.

and investing heavily to position themselves.” The huge Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) is home to more than 20 Maritime Logistics Professional March/April 2018 | |