As one of the fastest-growing petrochemicals hubs, DP World’s Jebel Ali hub accounts for approximately 60% of Dubai’s total trade value in the sector

DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali hub including Jebel Ali Port and Jebel Ali Free Zone plays an integral role in enabling the petrochemical sector in the UAE and the Middle East. The entity will highlight the growth prospects in the sector and their competitive offerings with their participation in the 15th edition of Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association Annual Forum.

The UAE and the Middle East region for years have been recognised as a thriving hub for the petrochemical industry. Petrochemicals are important for any industry and 95 per cent of all manufactured goods such as electronics, furniture, appliances, textiles and many more are based on petrochemicals. This makes it an important economic driver.

Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director, DP World UAE & Jafza said, “The global petrochemical market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1 per cent between 2021 to 2030 as per reports by market research and consulting organisation Precedence Research. As forecasted by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), global chemical output volume is expected to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2021 So, we are seeing an upward trend in the industry. In the UAE too, the petrochemicals sector is an integral pillar of the UAE’s Industrial Strategy ‘Operation 300bn’ that is expected to increase the GDP from Dh133 billion to Dh300 billion by 2031. We are looking to capitalise on strategic trade events like GPCA to boost this growth that will help our existing partners with whom we have long-standing relationships. It will also allow us to reach out to newer partners who can utilise our state-of-the-art facilities in Jafza and our dedicated petrochemical terminal in Jebel Ali Port to expand their business.”

Enriching local and regional economies

The petrochemical sector is a key industry cluster and a significant part of DP World’s growth strategy. Jebel Ali Port and Jafza’s combined capabilities as an integrated hub that offers multimodal connectivity caters to the extensive demand of the industry at the local and international levels. Spread over an area of 3.89 million sqm, Jafza’s petrochemicals cluster is home to 563 companies from 70 countries. Trading commodities like bitumen, plastics, organic chemicals, tanning/ dyeing extracts, among others, some of the key partners include countries like India, Japan, China, South Korea, UAE, UAE, Saudi Arabia to name a few.

Jebel Ali Port offers comprehensive solutions for all aspects of the petrochemical industry. This includes storage facilities like tank terminals and warehousing, specialised warehousing of packed lubricants, fuels and industrial chemicals, ISO tanks storage and dangerous goods warehouse. It also features facilities for chemical blending – tank and in-line, order fulfilment, inventory management, picking, packaging & labelling, transportation management, customs clearance/brokerage, freight forwarding by land, sea and air, hub/staging areas for containers, cargo modal conversion capabilities, tank cleaning and repairing and other value-added services.

The integrated logistics offerings supported by the largest network connectivity across the petrochemical trade lanes and the ecosystem at Jebel Ali gives the petrochemical industry the most attractive logistic proposition.