The port operator DP World said yesterday that its gross container volumes grew 4.4 per cent as it handled 15 million units in the first quarter on the back of strong performances in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the UAE.
In the UAE, DP World handled 3.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), reflecting a 7.7 per cent year-on-year growth.
Business from Australia remained mixed during the quarter, while capacity constraints at India’s largest container port, Nhava Sheva, weighed on its performance there.
Moving ahead, the company expects to perform “in line or ahead of the market” predicting growth of 4 to 5 per cent in this year.
“Overall, we are very pleased by the portfolio’s first quarter performance,” the company said yesterday. “Although some of our terminals continue to operate in a challenging macro environment, we expect market conditions across the portfolio to be generally favourable for the remainder of 2015.”
DP World said that the Rotterdam terminal in the Netherlands is expected to come online in the first half of this year. It will be followed by the opening of Yarimca in Turkey. Additional capacity at Nhava Sheva is also expected to follow in the second half of the year.
At home, Jebel Ali is expected to add 2 million TEU of capacity in the second half of this year, taking the port’s total capacity to 19 million TEU.
It also expects to close the acquisition of Fairview terminal in Canada in the second half of this year, which will provide quick access for vessels going between Asia and North America.
DP World said that during the first quarter it closed the acquisition of Economic Zones World FZE, which surrounds Jebel Ali terminal.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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