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DP World’s third cruise terminal in Dubai, which covers an area of 28,000m2 at Port Rashid, was inaugurated last week by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. The Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal is set to be the world’s largest single, covered cruise terminal and is capable of welcoming 14,000 cruise passengers a day.
The new facility will increase the handling capacity of the three cruise terminals in Dubai from two million tourists a year to seven million. The latest terminal will enable DP World’s Port Rashid cruise center to serve up to seven cruise vessels, and more than 25,000 passengers, at one time. The investment in the additional cruise facilities at Port Rashid has been made in response to requests from a number of cruise lines wishing to increase the number of port calls into Dubai.
According to Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World chairman, “The new terminal will also strengthen Dubai’s position as a global city and the premier cruise hub in the Middle East. Our investment in expanding cruise handling capacity and building this facility at Mina Rashid aims to position the city as a leading tourist destination. It also supports growth in the tourism sector and the emirate’s economy by making Dubai a base for cruise tours visiting other ports in the UAE and the Gulf, the Maldives and as far as Mumbai, India.”
The Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal has strong green credentials, having been built using re-cycled materials, including the steel structure, interlocking bricks, and shipping wood pellets for interior finishing. Features include a Green Wall Shade System to reduce solar ingress, controlled LED and daylight illumination, landscaping and irrigation supply. It also provides bicycle and electric car parking with charging stations. Over 75% of the building structure was reused from a steel structure sourced from demolished warehouses during the building of Jebel Ali’s new container terminal, which recently opened for business.
The new terminal includes duty-free outlets, shops, currency exchange, ATM machines and a VIP business center. It also provides office facilities to related organisations including the police, customs, immigration, shipping agents and airlines. A 70,000m2 car park on site can accommodate 36 buses and 150 taxis in addition to private cars and parking bays for employees and visitors.
Dubai is not the only UAE port to be investing in additional cruise terminal capacity. Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) is actively promoting Abu Dhabi’s developing cruise industry and is currently investing in a new cruise terminal project. Work began clearing the site several months ago and actual construction of the new building will commence in January, with the new terminal being operational by the end of 2015.
ADPC’s new cruise terminal will have space for three cruise vessels at a time and be able to handle more than 2500 passengers simultaneously. ADPC has also recently announced that Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Cruises will be using Abu Dhabi as a home port during 2016/2017 season.
