The History of Industrial Development in Dubai

Post union, development across the Emirates picked up even greater speed. Trade was flourishing like never before. The recently completed, fifteen berth Port Rashid, was already being expanded by another twenty-two berths. Local businesses were growing, and capacity demands from the traders were increasing all the time.
In parallel, Sheikh Rashid was now setting his eyes on industrial development in Dubai. He envisioned Dubai’s industrial complex to be in Jebel Ali - nearly, forty kilometers away from the city’s domestic population. This ambitious industrial zone would need to be supported by a dedicated port facility.
“That evening he said, I’ve got some ideas, but I’ll tell you people in the morning. You bring Mr. Navel Allen, who was the Engineer for William Halcrow in the area, so we brought Navel Allen here, and exactly in the same area where we’re sitting in the area here, and then he said, I want to build this big industrial port in Jebel Ali.”
It was at this ceremony in 1976 that Sheikh Rashid signed a contract award for the construction of a seventy-four berth, Jebel Ali Port. The seventy-four berths would cater for bulk carriers, general cargo vessels, container shipment, and tanker berths.
“It was clear very early on the ambition of Dubai, particularly the ambition of Sheikh Rashid to develop Dubai into a commercial hub, commercial center, for the whole of middle east and beyond. He took a very close interest in all those projects. He would be there often in the morning, he would come with his entourage, and have a look around and decide what he wanted, give instructions, which we would follow. I think the speed of development of infrastructure was extraordinary, and that ambition was extraordinary. As outsiders, as foreigners, I suppose we sometimes wondered if it was all going to work, you know, building this giant port, miles from anywhere then, because we were miles from anywhere then, right on the edge of Dubai, quite a long way from Dubai. And was this something that was going to be a successful commercial venture, or would it not work. Coming here this week, it’s unrecognizable in the extent of developments taking shape. The degree of construction, the speed of construction, and the quality of construction is mind blowing.”
With development of Jebel Ali Port also came the development of Dubai’s first industrial complex. Jebel Ali Industrial Complex was designed to have integrated facilities, such that any waste material or excess energy from one unit would be used by another facility. For instance, waste chemicals from petroleum products were recycled at the aluminum smelter. Similarly, excess heat from the aluminum smelter was used to drive a separate desalination plate.
Today, the Jebel Ali Port is a highly significant node in global trade. It operates with a capacity of over one hundred berths, capable of handling the largest container ships in the world. On the other hand, Jebel Ali Industrial Complex, which is now identified with Jebel Ali Free Zone, is home to over eight thousand companies from a wide range of industries. These companies come from more than one hundred and forty countries, making it one of the largest, most diverse, and technologically advanced free zones in the world.
Keywords: DP World, Port Rashid, Port Jebel Ali, Trade, Investments, Strategy, Shipping, Containers,
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