Moody's Ratings has assessed that Dubai-based DP World possesses sufficient liquidity to finance the construction of two new container terminals at Fujairah, on the UAE's eastern coast, under a 50-year concession agreement. DP World, one of the world's largest port terminal operators with a global network spanning dozens of countries, has been steadily expanding its infrastructure to reinforce its position in key trade corridors.

According to the ratings agency's report, DP World held $4.6 billion in unrestricted cash as of year-end 2025, supplemented by approximately $1.6 billion in available committed credit facilities and roughly $1 billion in additional term loan capacity. Moody's noted that these resources provide substantial headroom to support the company's investment program and absorb potential execution risks.

The strategic significance of the Fujairah expansion has grown following disruptions to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz that began in March 2026. These disruptions have negatively impacted cargo volumes and earnings at Jebel Ali Port, DP World's flagship facility in Dubai and one of the largest container ports in the world.

Fujairah's location on the UAE's eastern coast, outside the Strait of Hormuz, positions the new terminals as an alternative maritime gateway. Fujairah already hosts one of the world's largest ship bunkering hubs and an expanding oil storage complex, and the addition of container terminal capacity broadens its role in global maritime trade. Moody's stated that this will bolster the resilience of DP World's UAE operations and reinforce the long-term competitiveness of its integrated ports and logistics platform.

While DP World projects that the Fujairah terminals will raise its total UAE container handling capacity by 13 percent to approximately 22 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, Moody's estimates that the additional capacity could accommodate nearly half of the re-export volumes currently processed through Jebel Ali.

This consideration is critical, as re-export cargo — unlike origin-and-destination freight serving the domestic UAE market — is more susceptible to diversion should trade flows through the strait face persistent disruption. The UAE's emergence as a global re-export hub has been central to its economic diversification strategy, and protecting that trade flow is a priority for the country's logistics sector. The new terminals will therefore strengthen DP World's capacity to retain these volumes and sustain the competitiveness of its UAE logistics ecosystem.

Source: Zawya Projects