Will a new Fujairah port ensure trade security and resilience for the UAE?

The UAE is rebuilding its trade map to route around Hormuz — and the latest tell is DP World advancing talks on two new Fujairah projects: a multipurpose port along the coastline and a separate container terminal at an existing harbor. The company is discussing a term sheet with government officials, but ownership and financing aren’t final, the Financial Times reports. The new port could be built within 18 months at an initial cost in the USD hundreds of mns.

Fujairah sits on the Gulf of Oman outside Hormuz. But a bypass only works if shippers and insurers trust it under stress, former World Economic Forum head of supply chain Wolfgang Lehmacher tells EnterpriseAM. Redundancy “cuts exposure in stress-test scenarios,” but doesn’t erase the security risk — Iran targeted Fujairah and Khor Fakkan infrastructure and vessels during the war, and Khor Fakkan hit 100% congestion on some April days, according to Xeneta, with berthing waits stretching to four weeks. Jebel Ali, meanwhile, saw activity plunge 90-95% after the strait closed.

Hormuz tailwinds

Maersk is routing another service back through Suez: The Danish carrier is returning its India-Middle East-US East Coast service (MECL) to the Red Sea, shaving roughly seven days off westbound runs and up to 14 eastbound versus the Cape of Good Hope detour it has used since Houthi attacks began in late 2023. The move follows last week’s Maersk–Hapag-Lloyd switch of their AE15 service. The new eastbound call at Jeddah starts in August.

While the return to the Red Sea route is good for Egypt, Hormuz disruptions have been the real driver for the recovery of the Suez Canal revenues, which rose 25% y-o-y in the first 5M of 2026. With Hormuz effectively shut since the Iran war began on 28 February, Gulf oil and LNG is running north through the Red Sea to reach Europe, turning the canal into what EFG Hermes’ Mohamed Abu Basha called an unexpected beneficiary of the conflict.

May crossing data gives a snapshot: Tanker crossings jumped 20% y-o-y, whereas crossings from other types of vessels rose 11%.

Unlocking the Saudi dream?

First-time Saudi homebuyers in three major cities can now access mortgages starting from SAR 699 (USD 186) a month through a new program that channels capital directly to banks to support mortgage issuance. The mortgages, available in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, come with instant financing approval, according to state news agency SPA.

Why it matters: Saudi Arabia’s homeownership rate still falls short of the government’s 70% target, and affordability remains a main barrier. Knight Frank puts the ceiling Saudi nationals are willing to pay at SAR 1.5 mn per home. The move marks the REDF’s attempt to bring financing within reach for buyers priced out of conventional lending.

A drop in the ocean

Europe pledged EUR 884 mn in early recovery funds for Gaza, but it’s a trickle of what’s needed, with Gaza requiring an estimated USD 71 bn for rebuilding over the next decade. The funding will be part of the EU’s Team Gaza Initiative, which will focus on debris removal, water and sanitation, and restoring health systems. The funding will come from the European Commission and 15 partners, including a dozen European governments, the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank, but we don’t have a per-partner breakdown.

REMEMBER- US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, the US-led vehicle meant to steer Gaza’s rebuilding, has struggled to convert pledges into real investments on the ground. As of April, under USD 1 bn of USD 17 bn pledged had been deposited — and that gap is a pattern in previous Gaza reconstruction pledges dating back to at least 2014, we previously reported.