The first package is for the civil works and includes 2.2 kilometres of quay walls and the foundations for a bridge that will connect the new island to the existing port.

The bidders are the local/ Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct, South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company; and Brazil's Odebrecht.

The other package is for dredging and involves the reclamation of an island that will be located close to the existing port and the dredging of a basin between the island and the shore.

The bidders are two Belgian firms, Dredging International and Jan De Nul, and two Dutch firms, Royal Boskalis Westminster and Van Oord.

By the end of this year, the port's handling capacity will have reached 14-15 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).

DP World’s long-term plan is to expand capacity to 50 million TEUs by 2030, via a 14-stage masterplan.

Construction of the first phase of stage one of the new container terminal in Jebel Ali Port was completed last year.

The new terminal has a quay which is 1,200 metres long, with a handling capacity of 2.5 million TEUs. The work also involved deepening the channel to enable the port to receive the newest generation of large vessels.

South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction completed the onshore facilities and the quay wall package and Jan De Nul was the dredging and reclamation contractor.

Scott Wilson of the UK is the consultant for the infrastructure, while US-based Parsons International is the project manager for the expansion of Jebel Ali (MEED 29:1:08).

Part of the increase in traffic at Jebel Ali comes as a result of the decision to move most cargo traffic away from Dubai's other port, Port Rashid, which will now focus on cruise ships.