The United Arab Emirates plans to expand its East Coast port and freight-handling capacity to bypass the disrupted Strait of Hormuz.
The United Arab Emirates is moving to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz by expanding its East Coast infrastructure. DP World plans to build an entirely new port on the Fujairah coast while increasing capacity at the existing Fujairah container terminal. These developments aim to provide a reliable alternative to the waterway, which has faced near-daily disruptions from Iranian attacks on tankers and military facilities. To support this expansion, the United Arab Emirates is also accelerating the completion of a second crude pipeline to parallel the Habshan–Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline. This project is expected to double export capacity from 1.5 million to 3 million barrels per day. While shipping remains the most cost-effective method for moving oil, the administration of the UAE is prioritizing these land-based routes to hedge against regional volatility. These investments reflect a broader regional trend as Gulf states seek to diversify export routes to mitigate the economic impact of Iran's maritime dominance.