DUBAI, 18 Oct. 2005 (WAM)-- DP World signed an Dh1.85 billion contract with Jan de Nul Dredging Limited, a major European company, to carry out dredging and reclamation works for Stage I of the Jebel Ali New Container Terminal.

DP World is implementing the expansion programme of the Jebel Ali Port by building new facilities to supplement the cargo handling capacity of its twin ports of Jebel Ali and Port Rashid to cope with the projected trade growth and to absorb new cargo flows,UAE dailies reported today.

DP World was formed recently by merging the Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) and DPI Terminals (DPI) to create one of the largest port operators in the world.

?The expansion of the Jebel Ali Port is in keeping with this approach, and the signing of the contract with Jan de Nul to carry out dredging and reclamation works at the New Container Terminal marks significant forward movement in our efforts towards an expanded Jebel Ali Port," said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman, DP World and Jafza.

This year, Dubai?s container traffic levels have been running around 17 per cent higher than last year. Given the incremental growth that has been seen on a monthly basis, DP World is forecasting an overall growth rate of 22 per cent this year compared to 2004.

To accommodate the surge in container activity at its terminals, DP World has embarked on a major programme of expansion, designed to accommodate a 25 per cent average increase in business over the next few years. This has involved substantial investment in both equipment and infrastructure.

Between December 2004 and June this year, DP World took delivery of 16 additional super post panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes and 52 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, all of which are now operational at the Jebel Ali port.

The delivery of this equipment, coupled with the completion of the first phase of the Jebel Ali expansion programme in late 2004, has lifted capacity to 15 to 20 per cent above demand at peak times.

By the first quarter of next year, six more quayside cranes and 24 RTGs will be operational at the Jebel Ali port and DP World estimates that the annual capacity by then will be in the region of nine million TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units) per year.

The new Terminal will have a first phase capacity of five million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by the time it is operational in early 2008, taking Jebel Ali's total capacity along with its existing terminal to 15 million TEUs.

The construction of Stage I of Jebel Ali New Container Terminal is divided into five phases.

The contract for the first phase ? MCC2 ? has already been awarded, with the construction of the quay wall having commenced.

The contract agreement signed with Jan de Nul forms the second phase, MCC3, which consists of dredging works, construction of rubble mound breakwaters and revetments in a length of nine kilometres and involving a total rock quantity of 2.5 million cubic metres, construction of floating pontoons at the Eastern side of the new quay wall to provide a safe berthing of vessels, and providing navigation aids required for Stage I of the New Container Terminal