Local port operator DP World has invited contractors to bid for a contract to widen the access channel serving Jebel Ali Port in Dubai.

The widened waterway will connect to the under construction Terminal 4, which is being built on a reclaimed island off next to the existing port. In January 2014, Bam International of the Netherlands won the estimated AED370m ($100m) contract to design and build the causeway, bridge and quay wall for Terminal 4.

The scope of the contract includes the construction of 400 metres of quay wall. It also includes a 420-metre bridge and causeway to link the new terminal being built on an island of reclaimed land to the main port.

The reclaimed island intended to be used for Terminal 4 has the potential to add a further 10 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to the overall long-term port capacity.

In 2014, DP World opened Terminal 3. The AED700m terminal was built by a joint venture of Japan’s Toa and France’s Soletanche Bachy and added 4 million TEUs of capacity to the port.

The expansion of Terminal 2 was completed in 2013. Archirodon Construction won the AED150m contract to expand the terminal in February 2012.