In an exclusive interview with DP World’s Chief Executive, Mohammed Sharaf, AJOT’s UK-based writer Paul Richardson outlines the drivers behind the growth of the world’s 3rd largest Terminal Operator. By Paul Richardson, AJOTGlobal terminal operator, DP World has increasingly shown strong volume handling growth, and as the latest set of figures show, even in one of the biggest economic downturns experienced for many years, nothing has changed. Third quarter 2011 released at the end of October show another solid quarter in gross volumes handled, with a 10% increase over the same three months last year, and an overall figure of 14.4 million teu handled in July/August/September 2011. For the first nine months of 2011, DP World’s gross volumes handled jumped 11% to 40.6 million teu compared with the same period in 2010. The terminal operator points to the Asia Pacific, United Arab Emirates, Africa and the Americas regions as the strong drivers behind this growth, and particularly emphasises the potential of newly-acquired presence in Suriname, extra handling capacity in Callao, and the strength of the China market through its presence in Qingdao. But the obvious strength behind the operator comes from the United Arab Emirates and latest set of figures underscores the significance of this region where DP World’s consolidated volumes have grown from 8.6 million teu in the first nine months of 2010, to 9.5 million teu in the same period this year. Speaking exclusively to the American Journal of Transportation recently, DP World’s Chief Executive, Mohammed Sharaf, focussed on the significance of the Middle East region in simple terms, but in a confident way that underscored just how important the area is in the development of the terminal operator’s global presence. “For more than 10 years now, we have been concentrating a lot of our global focus on the emerging markets sector, and in particular, looked at regions such as the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and Africa. “These are areas that have been strongly neglected in the past, and certainly Africa has developed as a big area of economic and financial strength. “The local trade and economy continues to grow, and this is one of the reasons why we have, since 2000, been involved through a 30 year concession agreement with the country’s government, to manage the Djibouti port facility.” There are over 70 million potential consumers in this region, and this where DP World and the United Arab Emirates plays the its trump card. There is no doubt that the Middle East and in particular the United Arab Emirates is a strong economic and financial region, but that strength has mostly come from a united local approach and confidence. And this is what Sharaf firmly believes is the message that DP World is aiming to get across to areas such as Africa. “We built our Middle East capability on unity – a combination of business expertise and the fact that all the players worked together to achieve that ambition. “We do not just see ourselves as port and terminal operators, but as bringing our own ability and achievements from the Middle East to others.” But like all ambitions and beliefs, there are always pitfalls, and not just in emerging markets, but also in the so-called developed markets. Bureaucracy frequently raises its ugly head, and shipping, port and terminal operations are no different to the rest of the business world. Continues Sharaf, “As we expected from the outset, in the developing and emerging markets, there will always be a problem getting the final go ahead from governments. “Basically, the governmental and bureaucratic systems are afraid of making decisions, and it can take many years before agreements, particularly in our business, are made.” But surprisingly, this caution is not just experienced in the emerging markets, but it also exists in areas where port and terminal operators are supposedly viewed with more confidence. It is little different in either sector – bu