Khorfakkan Terminal Expansion Targets 5m TEU on the Route Around Hormuz

Gulf Terminals Group is advancing a major expansion of the Khorfakkan Commercial Container Terminal, lifting annual throughput capacity from 3.5m teu to 5m teu with a long-term target exceeding 10m teu, the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zone Authority has confirmed.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Sharjah, Gulf Terminals Group is a subsidiary of the UAE conglomerate Crescent Group. The first phase of the expansion will more than double the terminal's current designed capacity, and the Sharjah government intends to use the project's location and scale to consolidate Khor Fakkan as the principal gateway hub on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Oman.

That location is the commercial argument. The port operates deep-water berths and quayside cranes capable of handling the largest container vessels in service, and it offers direct access from the Gulf of Oman without a Strait of Hormuz transit. In a year when Gulf gateways inside the strait have seen volumes fall by more than half, the east coast alternative has moved from a hedge to a primary routing option for several carriers.

On 16 August the UAE formally launched a development plan branded "From Khorfakkan, Opportunities Begin", mapping the interconnection between the port, international shipping routes and Sharjah's wider logistics network. The expansion forms part of Gulf Terminals Group's $2bn global trade infrastructure investment strategy. Complementary developments include the Dhaid Logistics Park and the Sajaa Logistics Park, which together will deliver a combined annual logistics handling capacity of 2.3m teu on completion.

Gulf Terminals Group also plans to integrate Khorfakkan into the Etihad Rail network, establishing a multimodal corridor connecting sea, road and rail freight. That link matters for the inland leg: cargo landed on the east coast still has to reach Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates, and at present that movement is almost entirely by truck.

The terminal currently operates six berths across 1,880 metres of quay, equipped with 18 quay cranes and a container yard extending over 450,000 sq m. Gulf Terminals Group manages operations under a concession agreement with the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zone Authority.