IN Brief:
- DP World and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines have signed a term sheet for a proposed automotive logistics and processing facility at Jebel Ali Port.
- The proposed operation would combine vehicle storage, pre-delivery inspection and other services within a single location at the port.
- No investment value, ownership structure, construction timetable or opening date has yet been announced.
DP World and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines have signed a term sheet setting out the framework for a proposed automotive logistics and processing facility at Jebel Ali Port, moving cooperation that began in 2023 towards a more defined operating concept. The proposed facility would combine vehicle storage, pre-delivery inspection and associated processing within the port, although its investment value, ownership structure, construction timetable and opening date remain undecided.
With nearly 1.1 million vehicles passing through Jebel Ali during 2025, the proposed facility would sit within an established finished vehicle operation rather than depend on a new cargo stream. Cars arriving at the port already need space for discharge, storage and onward allocation before entering the UAE market or continuing towards other destinations across the Middle East and Africa.
Those movements involve more than parking cars between vessel arrival and dispatch because vehicles can require inspection, cleaning, minor preparation, accessory installation, charging and documentation before release. Every transfer between separate storage and processing locations adds labour, transport capacity and another opportunity for delay or damage, giving the companies a reason to bring more of those stages together inside the same port environment.
DP World expanded Jebel Ali’s automotive capacity during 2025 with a 2.6 million sq ft vehicle yard at Terminal 4, adding room for another 13,000 car equivalent units and taking stated vehicle storage capacity to about 75,000 units. An 800 metre quay capable of serving three roll on/roll off vessels simultaneously was developed alongside that yard.
Increasing the number of vehicles that can be discharged and stored places more pressure on the processes that follow, because inspection and onward allocation have to keep pace with vessel handling if the yard is to remain fluid. Cars that complete discharge quickly but then wait for preparation consume the same storage positions needed by the next vessel, so the proposed MOL facility would have to operate as part of the terminal flow rather than as a separate processing island.
Vehicle destination also affects how that flow is organised. Cars from one vessel may be cleared into the UAE, held within the free zone for re-export or prepared to different customer specifications, requiring inventory to be separated according to destination, customs status and processing requirement before onward movement begins.
Accurate yard allocation becomes more important as those categories multiply. Operators need to know which vehicles are awaiting inspection, which have completed preparation and which are cleared for dispatch, because storing a car in the wrong block can trigger additional shunting and use labour without bringing the vehicle closer to release. Higher throughput therefore increases the value of reliable inventory data alongside the physical storage capacity itself.
MOL brings the ocean carrier element through its car carrier operations, while DP World controls the port infrastructure and wider logistics estate surrounding Jebel Ali. Their 2023 memorandum considered automotive storage, processing and distribution opportunities across a broader scope, whereas the term sheet now identifies a proposed facility and a more specific group of activities around which the commercial model can be developed.
Closer coordination between ocean transport, port handling and vehicle preparation could reduce commercial handovers before vehicles leave Jebel Ali. Specialist road carriers, customs processes and dealer distribution would remain part of the chain, but more of the work completed inside the port could be planned around a common schedule instead of being divided between unrelated facilities.
Electric vehicles add further operating requirements because charge levels have to be managed during storage and damaged batteries can require different handling procedures from conventional vehicles. DP World already provides charging and battery handling capability across parts of its automotive network, although the companies have not published an equipment specification for the proposed MOL facility.
A growing electric vehicle flow will require sufficient electrical capacity for charging as well as procedures for isolating vehicles with suspected battery damage from normal inventory. Those requirements affect the physical design of storage and processing areas, adding infrastructure needs beyond inspection lanes and parking space.
Throughput across the complete operation will determine how much value that infrastructure creates. Inspection can be accelerated only as far as downstream road or export capacity can remove completed vehicles, just as additional yard capacity can absorb vessel peaks only while processing and allocation continue clearing cars from storage.
The term sheet gives DP World and MOL a more concrete basis for designing those interfaces. Jebel Ali already has the vessel volumes, berth capacity and vehicle storage required for a large automotive operation, while the proposed facility would add more preparation and processing around that existing network. The next decisions will determine how much capacity is built, how the operation is structured and whether vehicles can move from vessel to customer with fewer transfers and less dwell.
