DPI awarded a 30 year concession to develop and operate Fujairah's container terminal

Total investment in excess of $US 155 million

Dubai, Fujairah : 16 March 2005

Dubai Ports International "DPI", one of the world's leading port operators, has been awarded a 30 year concession to develop and operate the container terminal at the Port of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates. The agreement between the Fujairah Port Authority and DPI also includes an option to extend the concession by a further 20 years, potentially taking the contract through to 2055.

Fujairah's deep-water facility has over 1.3km of quay and DPI's total projected investment in the terminal will be in excess of $US 155 million, including new super-post panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes and yard handling equipment to lift annual capacity to an eventual 1.7 million TEU. In January 2005, DPI signed MOUs with the port authorities of Abu Dhabi and Fujairah Port, which paved the way for greater synergies in the UAE's container terminal operations, giving consistent and equal service levels for customers ultimately providing choice with confidence.

In 2004, DPI achieved year on year growth of 26.5% at its four international port operations - Jeddah, Djibouti, Vizag and Constantza. Subsequently, in December 2004, DPI agreed to acquire CSX World Terminals a leading international terminal developer and operator with operations in Asia, Europe, Australia and Latin America. This transaction was completed on 22 Februaruy 2005 and makes Dubai Ports, which includes DPI and DPA (Dubai Ports Authority), a top 6 global ports operator.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman Dubai Ports, commented: "On behalf of DPI, I am delighted to be able to announce this important agreement. This concession will enable us to streamline operations at the major container facilities of the UAE, and offer enhanced service levels to our customers. We are proud to have been selected by the Fujairah Port Authority to develop this key UAE trade centre."

Sheikh Saleh Mohammed Hamad Al Sharqi, Chairman, Fujairah Port Authority , commented: "This is an exciting development for Fujairah. We believe our facility has the potential to become a leading regional container facility, reaching projected volumes of 1.7 million TEU in five years' time. We are fully committed to making Fujairah fulfil this potential, We look forward to working with our colleagues at DPI".

-Ends-

For further information please contact:
Middle East  
Bell Pottinger Communications  
Tom Mollo
+9715 0550 4203
+971 4367 2256
tmollo@bell-pottinger.co.uk

© Press Release 2005