Runners-up: Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia and Manama, Bahrain (tie)

Dubai is the pre-eminent transport hub in the Middle East, thanks to its busy airport and ports, which have grown rapidly in the past four decades. Dubai’s main ports of Jebel Ali, Port Rashid, Hamriya Port and Dubai Creek serve more than 13,000 vessels each year and handle a significant share of the world’s shipping cargo.