DP World was formed in September 2005 with the integration of the terminal operations of the Dubai Ports Authority (DPA), which was focused on the UAE ports of Rashid and Jebel Ali, and DPI (Dubai Ports International) which had been set up to export this success internationally.
When it was first established in 1999, DPI had initially applied its expertise to managing ports in the Middle East, India and Europe. Its first project was at Jeddah Islamic Port (in 1999), where it collaborated with its local partner on the management and operation of the South Container Terminal (SCT). In 2003, SCT was the first terminal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to exceed 1 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) and volumes in 2004 exceeded 1.3 million TEU. DPI then went on to develop successful operations at the ports of Djibouti (2000), Vizag, India (2002) and Constanta, Romania (2003).
In January 2005, DPI transformed its network with the strategic acquisition of CSX World Terminals (CSX WT), the international terminal business of CSX Corporation. This acquisition gave the company a strong presence in Asia with major operations in Hong Kong and China as well as operations in Australia, Germany, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Importantly for the future development and expansion of its network, DP World also acquired CSX WT’s strong project pipeline, which included the 9-berth Pusan Newport (PNC), South Korea, where DP World holds the management contract as well a significant equity interest, and other projects in the rapidly expanding markets of India and the Middle East.
In February 2005 DP World signed an agreement with the Cochin Port Trust (CoPT) to construct, develop and operate an international container transhipment terminal at Vallarpadam, Kochi, India. It is the largest single operator container terminal currently planned in India and the first in the country to operate in a special economic zone. The new terminal will make Kochi a key centre in the shipping world reducing India’s dependence on foreign ports to handle transshipment.
In March 2005, DP World was awarded a 30 year concession to develop and operate the container terminal at the Port of Fujairah, in the UAE. This was followed in July 2005 by the awarding of a management contract for Mina Zayed Port, Abu Dhabi. These concessions will enable DP World to streamline operations at the major container facilities of the UAE and further increase the choices available to our customers.
In November 2005 we also announced agreements to develop new container terminals at Yarimca, Turkey and Qingdao, China.
DP World also has interests in logistics businesses in Hong Kong and China, notably ATL, the market leading logistics operator based at Kwai Chung, Hong Kong.
We took another giant leap forward with the acquisition of P&O in March 2006, expanding our portfolio of terminals and adding P&O Maritime Services to the group. The combined container throughput of both companies for 2005 was more than 35 million TEU across terminals from the Americas to Asia. This grew to nearly 42 million TEU in 2006. The acquisition also brought with it an exciting pipeline of projects that will continue our future expansion, independent of acquisitions, across key markets globally.
In 2008, DP World handled more than 46.8 million TEU across its portfolio from the Americas to Asia - an increase of 8% on 2007. With a pipeline of expansion and development projects in key growth markets, including India, China and the Middle East, capacity is expected to rise to around 95 million TEU over the next ten years.
