East-coast Gateway: How DP World Fujairah Terminals Expansion Shields UAE Trade From Strait Risk

Fujairah is drawing renewed attention because it sits on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. DP World has been in talks to build a new multipurpose port along Fujairah’s coastline and a separate container terminal at the emirate’s existing harbor, according to a Financial Times report cited by EnterpriseAM UAE. A senior company official said the new port could be built within 18 months, with an initial investment in the hundreds of millions of USD that would rise as capacity is added. The logic is straightforward: add a functioning east-coast gateway so cargo can still reach the UAE if Hormuz becomes unsafe or constrained.

The urgency comes from what recent disruptions did to traffic and throughput. EnterpriseAM reports that daily traffic through the strait struggled to rise above 40 vessels after it briefly reopened following an interim ceasefire agreement, down from nearly 135 vessels per day before the war, and later fell back to a trickle after renewed attacks. The same reporting says activity at Jebel Ali plunged by 90-95% after the strait was closed, citing people familiar with the matter, while IMF PortWatch data indicated port calls declined sharply after the conflict began. Shipments were diverted through Fujairah and Sharjah’s Khor Fakkan, leaving both east-coast facilities heavily congested.

A Redundancy Play That Connects Back to Jebel Ali

Moody’s Ratings has framed the Fujairah buildout as a supply-chain resilience move that complements, rather than replaces, Jebel Ali. In Khaleej Times coverage, Moody’s said the agreement in principle between DP World and the Fujairah Ports Authority covers two new terminals under a 50-year concession, and is credit positive because it diversifies DP World’s maritime gateways and supports revenue stability. Moody’s also estimates the development will increase DP World’s container handling capacity in the UAE by about 13% to nearly 22 million TEUs annually. The terminals are planned to integrate with Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone, and DP World’s domestic logistics network, strengthening connectivity across the UAE.

Project details described by Gulf News and PressReader include the Al Rugaylat container and multi-purpose terminal and the Dibba General Cargo terminal, also under a 50-year concession. The east-coast location means vessels carrying goods to the UAE could call at Fujairah without first traveling through the strait, and the cargo could then move overland to businesses, logistics centers, and consumers elsewhere in the country. Yuvraj Narayan, Group Chief Executive Officer of DP World, said the project would add capacity as Jebel Ali operates at high utilisation, and described the goal as extending what Jebel Ali delivers into a wider, integrated platform for moving goods within the UAE and beyond.

The strategy is also part of a wider policy push to reduce exposure to a single chokepoint. Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi said the UAE is working on a new harbor to sit alongside eastern ports including Dibba, Fujairah, and Khor Fakkan, along with new pipelines and wider rail and road networks to eliminate dependence on the strait. Wolfgang Lehmacher, former head of supply chain and transport industries at the World Economic Forum, said redundancy “cuts exposure in stress-test scenarios,” but he also warned a bypass only counts if shippers and insurers trust it under stress. Moody’s added that more cargo moving between coasts could modestly dilute DP World’s margins versus higher-margin port operations, even as network benefits reduce concentration risk.