Dubai Ports Authority has reported 24 per cent growth in its handling operations and set a cargo traffic record of 6.4 million containers for the year, an official said in a report published in 'Gulf News'. The 24 per cent figure and the 6.4 million container total are just two of a large number of significant developments connected to the port's operations, said Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, managing director of Dubai Ports Authority (DPA). Dubai's port facilities rank the city as the world's 11th largest port operator, he said. More than 100 shipping lines are served by DPA. Dubai's ports will expand their cargo-handling capacity further through an ongoing four-phase, Dh4.6 billion expansion project, he said. The plan includes the construction of docking areas, new wharfs, container yards and extension and deepening of the present docks to be able to handle the largest ships. The plan is to be implemented in four phases. The first phase is expected to be completed this month, and will upgrade Dubai's container handling capacity to seven million containers. This part of the project will be completed ahead of schedule. Bin Thaniah said it was originally set for completion by the end of 2005. The second phase is to be finished in 2007, and the third is expected to be completed in 2010. The last phase of the expansion project is scheduled to be completed in 2020. The plan will see the construction of ten container terminal berths, new wharfs, ducking areas and other facilities to develop Dubai's port facilities even more, and further increase their capacity. After completion, Dubai should be able to handle 21.8 million containers a year by 2020. Last year, the port handled about 5.15 million containers. In 1993, the ports handled just 1.6 million containers.
