Middle East ports will grow at 5.1% in 2015, bucking global trends and higher than the 4% growth in Chinese ports, and 2% overall global growth for 2015, the UAE’s top port official said this week.

He added that GCC ports were resilient, serving economies driven by high consumption and robust industry, and “future ready”.

“We are fortunate in the region that our populations are growing and that per capita income is high,” Mohammed Al Muallem, svp and md, DP World UAE Region, told TOC Middle East in Dubai. “The effect [of today’s freight crisis] on growth in our region is much less than [on] others.”

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