Best transport infrastructure: Dubai, UAE
Published:  February 07, 2005

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.

Dubai International Airport is one of the fastest growing air transport hubs in the world. It served more than 18 million passengers in 2003, travelling to more than 140 destinations on more than 100 airlines. The number of passengers travelling through the airport has been growing at between 10% and 15% a year for the past 10 years and shows no signs of slowing.

Current transport-related projects include the expansion of Dubai Cargo Village, the expansion of Jebel Ali Port, the Dubai Railway Project, Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 2 expansion and the Dubai Maritime City Free Zone (see page 33 for project details).

Jubail in Saudi Arabia and Manama in Bahrain both have good transport connections that, thanks to multibillion-dollar investments, are becoming better integrated with regional and international networks.




Register for E-Alerts

Subscription Contacts Privacy policy Terms and Conditions Webmaster

Mailing address: Financial Times Ltd, Number One Southwark Bridge, London, SE1 9HL, United Kingdom

© The Financial Times Limited 2009