The Port of Dubai Sets the Standard for Modern Freight Handling

Since its beginnings in 1799, the Port of Dubai has developed into a cosmopolitan center of trade and tourism that possesses one of the busiest ports in the world. The huge economic development of Dubai on the back of the oil wealth of the region has seen Dubai become a city of gleaming skyscrapers and that forms the hub of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. In recent decades, Dubai has developed as a major tourist destination because of its central geographic location and warm climate with white sandy beaches. Its geographical location has also made it a vital link in the worldwide intermodal transport chain at the same time. The Port of Dubai is one of the biggest ports in the world as well and it has been ranked as the 9th largest container port worldwide after giant seaports like Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong and larger than the busiest port in Europe at Rotterdam1. The majority of the growth of Dubai has occurred in the past decade with huge increases in the amount of cargo being handled by the Port of Dubai’s managing authority, DP World. During the period 2000-2005, there was an increase of 155% in the amount of automotive parts passing through the port annually alone2. Recently DP World announced a significant milestone for the Port of Dubai when they handled their 100 millionth container3 in a ten year period. The success has been attributed to the support that the Port of Dubai receives from the local government, customers, stakeholders, and the committed employees that have made it one of the most efficient ports in the world. Because much of Dubai is still very new and has been purpose built as a modern transport hub, it is setting a benchmark for efficiently and effectively handling cargo that many older ports with aging infrastructure will find hard to match. Part of the success of Dubai as a modern transport hub is that it can draw on a long history of being a seafaring center where the people are accustomed to making their living from the transportation of commodities. It seems that the history of the development of Dubai as a major world port is set to continue with the facilities continually being expanded to cater for more goods. This will certainly make Dubai the model example that many other ports around the world will look to for inspiration. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world’s_busiest_container_ports http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=3480&t=1 http://www.ameinfo.com/dp-world-marks-milestone-dubais-ports-328487