DP World, a Dubai-based global operator of marine terminals, said it handled 30.6 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio of container terminals during the first half of 2015, with gross container volumes growing by 4.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Growth in the first half was largely driven by Europe and UAE terminals. Overall, the Mena region showed an increase of 6.9 per cent in terms of gross volume (like for like), according to the company.

The company's UAE terminals handled 7.9 million TEU, representing a growth of 6 per cent, while Europe has been resilient despite the difficult geopolitical environment.

The data shows that the Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent regions improved performance by over 400,000 TEUs over the first quarter, while the Americas and Australia have been largely flat.
“The recent capacity addition at Nhava Sheva (India) will provide further room for growth,” according to the company statement.

With regards to consolidated terminals, volumes grew by 3.5 per cent with Mena driving the growth. The Mena region was the only one which registered growth, at 5.2 per cent over the same period last year.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World, reported that Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Nhava Sheva (India) were now operational, while Yarimca (Turkey) is on track for launch in the fourth quarter of 2015. He also announced that the acquisition of Fairview Terminal in Canada would complete in the second half of this year, thus enhancing the Americas portfolio.

With regards to the flagship Jebel Ali port (UAE), Sulayem said: “We are on track to deliver an additional 2 million TEUs of capacity in Terminal 3 in H2, 2015. Despite the new capacity additions, Jebel Ali continues to operate at high levels of utilisation.

“Given the strong domestic and regional growth outlook including the lead up to Expo 2020, we are delighted to announce construction of Terminal 4, which will deliver new capacity of 3.1 million TEU by 2018. This will take total Jebel Ali capacity to 22.1 million TEU and will ensure our flagship asset continues to have sufficient capacity to serve the future growth demand of the UAE and the wider region.’’    

Mohammed Sharaf, CEO DP World, commented that the ports had delivered a resilient performance despite difficult economic conditions and that this was due to the investments made in recent years to deliver relevant capacity in the right markets. He added that they remained confident of meeting their full year market expectations.

DP World has a portfolio of more than 65 marine terminals across six continents, including new developments under way in India, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.  – TradeArabia News Service