Dubai-based global marine terminal operator DP World’s group chairman and chief executive officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said that mirroring its strategy used in Dubai will be key to the company’s success in Latin America.

Addressing delegates at the inaugural Global Business Forum on Latin America at the Atlantis the Palm hotel in Dubai, UAE, earlier today (November 9), Bin Sulayem explained that the integration of facilities, free zones and logistics parks was instrumental to DP World’s success in the emirate and in the more than 70 countries around the world in which it operates, said a statement from the company.

Speaking on the theme, “New Models – Facilitating the Global Economy’s Infrastructure”, he told delegates: “Latin America is very important for us. We’ve seen growth there that mirrors our investment.”

DP World’s presence in Latin America began in the Dominican Republic and Argentina before it expanded into Brazil and Peru. The group is now developing a greenfield site in Ecuador, it added.

“In Dominican Republic, we started a logistic park,” he said, highlighting the country as an important gateway to east coast in the US. “This logistic park is in a very strategic location. It goes ‘port – logistic park – airport’. This combination is very important for success. We have the same combination in Dubai. And it is this combination that allows the most efficiency.”

Bin Sulayem said it is critically important that ports not just handle cargo quickly, but also reduce time taken for customs clearance and other logistical obstacles.

The chairman said that DP World found itself looking for new innovative solutions as its needs changed, citing the company’s use of bigger vessels, which made it difficult for crane operators to see what they were doing. That issue, he said, led the company to innovate by adopting automation technologies.

“Today we have crane operators in Jebel Ali operating one or two, soon to be three or four, cranes. All remotely. So, this really helps us to become more efficient,” he added.

Continuing with the theme of innovation, Bin Sulayem said he believed that the Hyperloop technology, in which the UAE and his own company are investing in, could initially be more attractive to logistics companies as a cargo solution rather than a mode of passenger transport.

“The first real-world operation of Hyperloop will be cargo,” he said, noting that less stringent safety regulations would be required to get a cargo-based system off the ground.

Outlining the history between DP World and Hyperloop, he said: “It’s a disruptive technology because it bypasses ports.  They will deliver cargo directly to logistics parks, not the ports. So, down the road, there might not be a need for ports.”

Bin Sulayem revealed that DP World is currently studying the idea of collaboration with Hyperloop and utilising its technology. However, he said that the project is still a work in progress as it requires more analysis.

“We haven’t yet reached a conclusion that Hyperloop is going to beneficial for us. We’re still working on it. We should have some idea by December, but we may need more time,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service