In the car yard of Dubai's Jebel Ali Port, finished cars from China, Japan, Thailand, India, and South Korea are waiting to be distributed to the Middle East and African markets. This port's automobile throughput is expected to reach nearly 1.1 million vehicles by 2025, and its ambition goes beyond that. Dubai International Ports Group and Japanese shipping company Mitsui International have signed an intention agreement to jointly build an automotive logistics and supporting processing center at Jebel Ali Port. The center will integrate vehicle warehousing, pre delivery inspection, and other value-added services within the port area, further expanding its vehicle warehousing capacity and supporting the flow of automotive cargo between Asian manufacturing centers and various markets in the Middle East and Africa. Both parties have not yet disclosed the expected investment amount, equity structure, construction period, and planned operation time of the project. The agreement signed this time is only a project framework intention document and does not represent the final investment decision.

Three year partnership towards project implementation

This cooperation is a further implementation of the partnership that will begin in December 2023 between the two parties. At that time, Dubai Universal Ports and Mitsui International signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on automotive logistics and maritime decarbonization in the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East region. They agreed to jointly study the use of Jebel Ali Port to carry out finished automotive warehousing, preparation, and strategic distribution business. From the memorandum of understanding to the intention agreement, the cooperation between the two parties is moving from the research stage to the project implementation stage.

Jebel Ali Port's automobile throughput capacity is further expanded

Dubai Universal Ports has completed the expansion of its Jebel Ali Port automotive business in August 2025, constructing a 2.6 million square foot automotive yard at Terminal 4. The project will add 13000 equivalent storage spaces for automobiles, increasing the total automobile storage capacity of the port to 75000 units. It will be equipped with an 800 meter dock shoreline and can accommodate three roll on/roll off ships at the same time. In the first half of 2025, Jebel Ali Port's automobile processing capacity reached 545000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 28%; Imported vehicles account for 65% of the total throughput, mainly from China, Japan, Thailand, India, and South Korea. Keywords: Middle East News Network, Logistics Hub, Shipping

New pivot for automobile circulation in Asian and African markets

This planning project will integrate vehicle warehousing, pre delivery inspection, and other value-added services within the port area, expand vehicle warehousing capacity, and support the flow of automotive goods between the Asian manufacturing center and various markets in the Middle East and Africa. By 2025, the vehicle throughput of Jebel Ali Port will approach 1.1 million vehicles, demonstrating strong demand for this hub. Both parties have not yet disclosed the expected investment amount, equity structure, construction period, and planned operation time of the project. The signed document is only a project framework intention document and does not represent the final investment decision.Editor/Gao Xue