By Majorie van Leijen www.emirates247.com
In his first book My Vision, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, reminisces the day that he stood next to his father, staring at what was to become Jebel Ali port, a project masterminded by the late Sheikh Rashid.
“This project, which was realised within two years, was way ahead of its time when it was inaugurated in 1979. It was an undertaking of epic proportions for a small emirate such as Dubai and I doubt any consultant engineer would have wanted to undertake its feasibility study back then,” he writes.
“Imagine telling a group of investors: ‘This is the Jebel Ali area which, as you can see, is a remote area devoid of water, vegetation and people. I want to build the largest manmade port ever here, despite the fact Dubai’s Port Rashid is already the Middle East’s largest port and has thirty-five berths.’”
Today, Jebel Ali is home to over 5,000 companies, 67 berths, strengthened with an international airport and the setting stage for the World Expo to be held in Dubai in 2020. But the port did not grow alone. More info
