The ports operator released a statement to the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) on 22 July reporting that container throughput reached 13.6 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) during the first six months of 2008, up by 21 per cent on the equivalent period last year.

The Dubai-based group says the increase was driven by particularly strong performance from its terminals in Australia, India and the Middle East, with the two Dubai ports of Jebel Ali and Port Rashid recording combined growth of 17 per cent to reach 5.8 million TEUs.

The company is now preparing its financial results for the first half of the year, which will be released on 28 August.