DP World said that the expansion of Terminal 2 at Jebel Ali Port is on schedule for completion in the first half of this year.

It will add 1 million teu (20-foot equivalent container units) capacity to the terminal, work on which is 60 per cent complete. Additionally, work has also begun on the new 4 million teu capacity Terminal 3, the port operator said.

It said that the new $850 million Terminal 3, which is set to open in 2014, was crucial in supporting the growth of Dubai and the wider Middle East, Africa and Subcontinent region.

Terminals 2 and 3 are set to take total capacity at the port to 19 million teu by 2014 and will create 1,000 new jobs.

The announcements came as DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and Mohammed Ali Ahmed, chief operations officer, DP World, UAE region, visited the construction site.

Bin Sulayem said: “We are building to ensure that Dubai and Jebel Ali Port continue to efficiently meet the needs of the shipping lines and traders serving the wider region of two billion people.

“Increasingly the lines are seeking economies of scale with new generation mega-ships, and we stand ready to handle these giants of the sea, reinforcing Dubai’s role as the centre of trade in the region.

“We continue to be committed to expanding our terminals to match market demand and provide the quality services that our clients have come to expect from DP World.”

The T2 expansion extends the quay wall 400 m to 3,000 m, allowing the simultaneous handling of six 15,000 teu mega ships.

Work on the quay wall is nearly finished, with 99 per cent of the quay wall blocks in place, the port operator said.

Once T2 and T3 are complete, Jebel Ali Port will be able to handle 10 of the next generation 18,000 teu mega vessels at the same time - the only port in the region able to do so, it said.

It handled more than 500,000 vehicles until early December – more than previous peaks reached four years ago.

“The record number of vehicles that have passed through the port’s facility for roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) vehicle carriers reinforces the growth message for the UAE and the wider region,” said Mohammed Al Muallem, senior vice president and managing director, DP World, UAE region.

General cargo facilities at Jebel Ali include 30 berths and a total storage area of over 1.3 million sq m, comprising 1.2 million sq m of open storage and 100,000 sq m of covered space.

In the first nine months of 2012, DP World, UAE region, handled almost 10 million teu, 4.6 per cent ahead of the same period last year.