Japanese business team visits Jebel Ali Port

Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region, welcomed the visiting delegation. Talks focused on ways to improve supply chain efficiencies in line with Jebel Ali's current expansion projects which will add 5 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) container capacity, raising Jebel Ali's total capacity to 19 million TEU by 2014.

The meeting was attended by officials from DP World, UAE Region, Dubai Customs, Economic Zones World and Dubai Trade, as well as 40 JBC members, including representatives of major Japanese companies based in Dubai such as Mitsubishi, Komatsu, Nissan, Bridgestone, Yamaha, Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Metal One Corporation, Sojitz Corporation, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Kamigumi, Marubeni-Itochu, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries among others.

Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region, said, "As the gateway to the region, DP World, UAE Region is keen to enhance cooperation with strategic partners to improve trade flows. The exchange of ideas and knowledge that we had with the Japanese Business Council will help us understand our customers' emerging needs and deliver added value to our services. We thank the business leaders for visiting Jebel Ali Port, which serves as the gateway to their operations across the Middle East and Africa."

Hisataka Takao, Chairman of JAFZA Committee of the Japanese Business Council, and Managing Director of Komatsu ME, said, "We are highly impressed with the new developments in Jebel Ali Port. Our talks with DP World were very fruitful and it is the desire of the Japanese Business Council to further strengthen the already excellent trade relationship between Japan and the UAE, which hosts around 270 Japanese companies including many based in Dubai. We consider DP World a valuable strategic partner in the Middle East and look forward to collaborating with them in the future to expand Japan's commercial interests in the UAE and other GCC countries."

According to the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), bilateral trade between the UAE and Japan continued to grow last year, with 58.37% increase in volume, to reach $50.3bn in 2011. This growth raises the UAE to the 9th place among the largest trade partners of Japan.

DP World recently awarded contracts for the construction of the infrastructure of Container Terminal 3 in Jebel Ali Port, with a quay length of 1,860 metres, a draft of 17 metres, and a 70-hectare storage yard. It will be equipped with 19 Ship-to-Shore (STS) quay cranes and 50 Rail Mounted Gantry (RMG) cranes.