Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman and CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said that the ripple effect of Suez blockage in 2021 pushed back the delivery of cargo for months, prompting major changes at DP World.
He made his statement at the World Government Summit (WGS2022) in Dubai, underscoring that reaction to this and other shocks is leading to greater supply chain innovation, such as unlocking potential in partner countries in South and Central America and Africa that will strengthen supply chain security and ensure economic benefit is distributed ‘fairly across the world’.
DP World, which has over 93 terminals, has a "clear role to play" in everything from distributing vaccines to strengthening the economic recovery, according to Bin Sulayem. It’s this drive to reach the "countries and people that need it most" that is leading to increasing supply chain innovation.
The CEO outlined how DP World’s World Logistics Passport, which helps countries from Asia, Africa and South and Central America diversify and boost their trade, drawing a direct line from Asia to Africa, has recruited over 100 partners and is giving emerging economies tools they need to enter the global trading system.
"Today, 60 percent of business in the Dominican Republic comes through us, and it is the only Latin American country with a free zone," he said, noting that the UAE had also opened a dry port in Rwanda that disrupted trade to the landlocked African state.
"It used to take two weeks to get there, now it takes one day, and the cost came down from US$7,000 a crate to US$2,800,"
he added.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
