Djibouti's strategic location on the Red Sea gives DPA access to Africa.THE DUBAI Ports Authority (DPA) has expanded its growing network of container terminals under management, winning a 20-year concession for the management and oper-ation of Djibouti Port that gives it a foothold in East Africa.
The agreement was signed in May by Dubai Ports Authority managing director Sultan bin Sulayem and the Djibouti transport minister, Osman Idriss Djama, during a visit of Djibouti's president to the United Arab Emirates.
"We have chosen DPA to manage and operate our port, for they are efficient, experienced and honest in their dealings," President Ismail Omer Guelleh said at the signing ceremony.
Djibouti is the latest success in Dubai's campaign to tighten its grip on shipping in and around the Middle East. This began in 1999 when it secured a 10-year concession for the container terminal at the Port of Beirut, followed months later by its move into Jeddah Islamic Port's southern terminal.
Dubai has also signed a preliminary agreement for the management of Umm Qasr port, on the shores of Iraq's Arabian Gulf city of Basra, which can only be finalised once United Nations' sanctions against Baghdad are lifted.
The decision to go international was prompted by the opening of rival trans-shipment hubs at Salalah in southern Oman, managed by Maersk SeaLand, and Aden, Yemen, run by PSA Corp.
The alliance between Djibouti and Dubai is a natural one. This was referred to by President Guelleh during his stay in Dubai: "We know that the other neighbouring ports are a little bit cautious about the recent developments in Djibouti port."
However, the tiny African state's transport minister preferred to speak in terms of using Dubai's expertise to maximise the potential of its port. The government there has, for several years, been undertaking an ambitious programme to develop its harbour facilities and infrastructure.
"Now, after the agreement with DPA, we would be able to meet the consistent demands and needs of the international companies," Djama said.
Djibouti is the busiest port on the Horn of Africa, handling more than 120,000 TEUs in 1999, a figure it wants to see grow to 400,000 TEUs with Dubai's help.
DPA's Sultan bin Sulayem said Djibouti port only needed to integrate its departments and upgrade its technology. That task will be carried out by Dubai Ports International, a dedicated division of Dubai Global, which was established last year to oversee the overseas expansion of both DPA and the Jebel Ali Free Zone. Dubai Global's previous involvement in Africa had been restricted to memoranda of understanding for the management of free zones in Tunisia, Libya and Sudan.