DP World celebrates a marquee milestone in its history when its Dubai ports handled the 100 millionth container to pass through DP World, UAE Region terminals in ten years, an achievement that, Chairman H.E. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said, was made possible by the high level of support the company has received from Dubai's leadership, loyal customers, stakeholders and committed employees.

The 100 million TEU record was achieved between January 2003 and January 2013 and covers all container boxes handled in both Mina Rashid and Jebel Ali Port. DP World, UAE Region's annual container throughput increased more than 150% over the decade, from around five million TEU in 2003 to 13.3 million TEU in 2012.

In all, the two container ports have handled 135 million TEU since the opening of Jebel Ali Port in 1979, around 75% of it since 2003.

In a recognition of the crucial roles they have played in DP World's success story, members of the DP World Alumni Network were invited as special guests to celebrations at Jebel Ali Port where the Chairman unveiled a container box painted in company colours, in the presence of senior officials, including Vice Chairman H.E. Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Group Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Sharaf, and Senior Vice President and Managing Director of DP World, UAE Region Mohammed Al Muallem " all of whom have played pivotal leadership roles in the company's emergence as the third largest global marine terminal operator.

The expansion work currently underway at Jebel Ali includes adding 1 million TEU in new capacity to Container Terminal 2 (T2) during the first half of this year and the development of a 4 million TEU capacity mega Container Terminal 3 (T3) by 2014. When the expansion work is complete, Jebel Ali Port will be able to handle ten of the next generation 18,000 TEU mega vessels at the same time " the only port in the region able to do so. Dubai's modern port industry goes back to 1969 when the late Ruler, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum gave instructions for a four-berth deep-water harbour to be constructed close to the mouth of Dubai Creek. By 1978, with a capacity of 1,500,000 TEU, the number of berths at Mina Rashid was increased to 35.

Encouraged by the market's response, Sheikh Rashid launched an even more ambitious project. When opened in 1979, Jebel Ali Port was ranked the world's largest man-made harbour.

In May 1991, Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) was established to manage both Mina Rashid and Jebel Ali Port. The merger led to a dramatic increase in throughput, exceeding one million TEU per annum for the first time. DPA and DPI was merged in 2005 to form DP World.In 2007, DP World, UAE Region achieved the throughput of 10,000,000 TEU in a single year. After a few months, container and general cargo operations at Mina Rashid were shifted to Jebel Ali Port, the gateway to a market of more than 2 billion people.

For well over a year now, DP World, UAE Region has been handling volumes of more than 1 million TEU every month. In 2012 DP World, UAE Region handled 13.3 million TEU.