Growing global trade opportunities, diversifying its business across the supply chain and exploring smart innovation technologies were key strands of DP Worlds operations in 2017 which included over $1bn in capital expenditure year to date.
A series of acquisitions, technology tie-ups and sustainable business achievements all formed part of the activities that saw the global trade enabler expand its business horizons across the world.
The expansion at Prince Rupert in Canada opened for business, DP World Limassol in Cyprus opened a new cruise terminal, work began on a new logistics centre in Kigali (Rwanda) and at a new terminal project in Posorja (Ecuador). Also in the Americas, DP World took 100% ownership of Embraport in Brazil. In Asia Pacific, they saw the consolidation of Pusan (South Korea), while in Africa they started officially operating DP World Berbera port (Somaliland) under a 30-year concession.
DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “The recovery of global trade in 2017 has been stronger than expected and we are pleased to have outperformed market growth once again. We are on course to deliver approximately 10% growth in gross volumes for 2017, and look forward to continued growth in 2018.
“Notable landmarks included strengthening our partnerships in Brazil, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Somaliland, India, Egypt and Mali with a range of infrastructure investments to enable global trade and connect countries to international markets. This was coupled with a series of acquisitions such as the inclusion of Dubai Maritime City and Drydocks World to the Groups operations, expanding our service offering to customers. We have also stepped up container handling productivity at our flagship Jebel Ali Port, by adding 1.5 million TEU to Container Terminal 3 (T3).”
Bin Sulayem added: Our activities aimed at providing added value to our customers at further points in the global supply chain by growing our logistics, industrial parks and freezone operations and smart digital trade solutions. We have also ensured our sustainable business practices have progressed, joining the United Nations Logistics Emergency Teams (LET) partnership to support humanitarian disaster relief; supporting the development of Hyperloop technologies that could revolutionise the movement of goods across continents and winning the coveted Dubai Quality Award, evidence of our ongoing commitment to excellence in everything we do. All of this happened to a backdrop of continued revenue growth, proof that we have a robust portfolio of businesses and a successful strategy to ensure the sustainable growth of our company.”