Agreements have been signed for 69 cranes to be installed at DP World’s Jebel Ali Terminal 3 which is being developed.

The operator’s local office signed deals with local and international companies for 50 rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes and 19 ship to shore (STS) quay cranes.

The new 4 million teu (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity container terminal will be 1.86 km long, with a depth of 17 m to handle multiple next-generation container liners simultaneously, and a 70 hectare yard. Total capacity at Jebel Ali will reach 19 m teu when Terminal 3 opens for business in 2014.

 The signing ceremony at DP World Head Office in Jebel Ali was attended by DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, vice chairman Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, group chief executive officer Mohammed Sharaf, and the senior vice president and managing director of DP World UAE, Mohammed Al Muallem.

Also present were Fritz Hofbauer, CEO of Trans Gulf Port Cranes (TGPC) of Abu Dhabi, which will supply and install 10 STS quay cranes and 25 RMG cranes, and Chen Weiping, deputy chief commercial manager, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co (ZPMC), which will supply and install 9 STS and 25 RMG cranes.

 Bin Sulayem, said: “DP World remains committed to continuing to meet the needs of the region’s growing markets and supporting the continued economic progress of the UAE and Dubai. The expansion of capacity at our flagship Jebel Ali Port is in line with market demands and the changing needs of our customers.

In the first six months of 2012 DP World, UAE Region, of which Jebel Ali is the leading facility, handled 6.6 million teu, 7.3 per cent ahead of the same period last year.