Top ports in the Middle East
16.11.2022
Owing to their strategic location at the crossroads of global trade routes, ports across the Middle East play a critical role in facilitating trade movement and enabling the transport of finished goods, raw materials and manufacturing components between key markets in the east and the west.
In this list, we cast light on the region’s foremost cargo ports, based on their cargo storage and handling capacity and overall contribution to the global supply chain operations.
King Abdullah Port
Saudi Arabia’s newest port facility, King Abdullah Port is a full-service commercial port strategically located on the coast of the Red Sea in King Abdullah Economic City.
The port spanning 17.4 square kilometres is the Middle East’s first privately owned, developed and operated port.
The port ranked as the world’s most efficient container port on the global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) jointly published by World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence in 2021.
Port of Jebel Ali
DP World‘s flagship container port, the port of Jebel Ali located 35 kilometres southwest of Dubai is the largest in the Middle East, with over one million square metres of container yard space, and 9,665 square metres of cold storage floor space ideal for a wide range of perishable cargo requiring special storage conditions. The cold storage facility offers a storage capacity of 8,183 pallets.
The port’s cool storage facility comprises three rooms with a total pallet storage capacity of 3,900 square metres of floor space.
Moreover, the port’s General Cargo Terminal spans a total storage area of over 1.4 million square metres, comprising 27 berths and a quayside depth of 15 metres, allowing large and special cargo vessels to berth.
Zayed Port
Zayed port serves as the main gateway for bulk and general cargo into the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi, spanning 1.7 million square metres with 21 berths, and a 4,375 total quay.
The port offers 7.5 million ft of general cargo capacity as well as extensive warehousing and cold storage facilities.
Moreover, the port can handle up to 10 oceangoing vessels simultaneously.