$40bn Gulf port expansion plans face head winds

Plans to invest almost $40bn to triple port capacity across the oil-rich Arabian Gulf region are sailing against stiff global economic head winds, according to industry experts. Before the global financial crisis weighed heavily on international trade, developers in the Arab states of the Gulf had plans to add 62mn 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, of capacity by 2028, at a cost of almost $40bn, according to Zawya Projects Monitor data.