Dubai builds new port at Deira Creek

Dubai Municipality is building a new port for merchant ships and a marine terminal at Deira Creek which is expected to open in August this year, a press statement said on Thursday.

The new port will be used by departing ships and is expected to relieve pressure on the existing port of Bur Dubai Creek.

Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said the project is the first of certain vital projects that currently run by the municipality. The project aims to increase the capacity of marine docks in the emirate, development of facilities and services of Dubai Creek. Dubai Municipality has been assigned the task of cleanliness and maintenance of supporting wall and all facilities, including ports, marinas and terminals of Dubai Creek.

“Dubai Creek has currently a single port for the clearance of arriving and departing ships. The number of these ships exceeds 22,000 merchant ships annually. It leads to rush and delay of procedures for the workers entry and exit and inspections of ships, especially as the creek is a main port for traditional ships coming to the Emirate,” Lootah said.

“The new port to be built in a strategic location at the entrance of Dubai Creek Deira side would relieve the pressure on the current port in the entrance of Bur Dubai Creek. On completion of the project, the old port will be assigned to arriving ships, while the new port will be allocated to departing ships. This will increase the efficiency and maritime safety in the creek,” he added.

Eng. Alia Rahim Harmoudi, Head of Coastal Zone Management and Waterways Section of Environment Department, said that the project cost is estimated at Dh15.8 million. It included the establishment of a new marine terminal of 213 meters length, equipped with all facilities necessary to accommodate anchoring of four traditional large size merchant ships at same time, in addition to an integrated services building allocated to government departments and institutions involved in ship procedures.

“The project also includes scraping the bottom of the creek at the entrance to enable the docking of large ships laden with goods,” she said.

“The project is progressing at a rapid pace and through an intensive work programme to ensure the completion of the project on time by the end of August. The Coastal Zone Management and Waterways Section has met all engineering and environmental requirements of the project in terms of the initial site studies, seabed surveying, soil tests and study of pavement traffic, in addition to the completion of structural designs of the project facilities internally,” she added.

It is noteworthy that the Dubai Creek of 14 km has been formed since the beginning of last century, as a centre of shipping in the region and a fundamental pillar for the growth of economic activity in the emirate. Its strategic location in the ancient trade route between Europe and India was the nucleus for the transformation of Dubai into a key place for the supply of commercial vessels, subsequently to the prominent financial and economic hub in the region and the world.

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