A US$1 billion expansion is turning Ras Al Khaimah’s flagship port into a regional powerhouse. Here’s what’s coming.
Ras Al Khaimah has been a port city for over 7,000 years. From the pearl-trading days of Julfar to today’s industrial cargo operations, the emirate’s coastline has always been its greatest economic asset.
(Read more: Ras Al Khaimah: One of the Oldest Port Cities on the Planet)
Now, with Saqr 2.0, RAK Ports is making its biggest bet yet – a US$1 billion greenfield development that will create the largest and deepest project cargo port in the Middle East and North Africa. (For our initial coverage of the announcement, see RAK Announces New Port and Free Zone by 2027.)
What Saqr Port is today
Before getting into what’s coming, it’s worth understanding how significant Saqr Port already is.
Saqr Port is the largest bulk-handling port in the Middle East and Africa. It currently operates 47 berths alongside RAK Maritime City and handles a combined capacity of approximately 100 million tonnes per annum. The port’s location at the foot of the Hajar Mountains feeds directly into RAK’s quarrying industry, which produces aggregate, cement, and building materials that supply construction projects across the entire GCC.
RAK Ports operates a total network of five ports across the emirate: Saqr Port (bulk cargo), RAK Maritime City Free Zone (free zone and industrial), Al Jazeera Port and Shipyard (ship repair and dry dock), Ras Al Khaimah City Port (general cargo, cruise terminal, warehousing), and Al Jeer Port. Together, this network handles over 75 million tonnes of cargo annually and has been a central contributor to RAK’s economy for decades.
Import and export volumes through Saqr Port have roughly doubled over the past five years. The port services industries across the region with bulk commodities, breakbulk, project cargo, general cargo, and containers.
What Saqr 2.0 will be
Saqr 2.0 is a greenfield development – meaning it’s being built from scratch on new waterfront land rather than retrofitting existing infrastructure. The project covers approximately 8 million square metres of waterfront land and will include deep-water berths, advanced warehousing, logistics infrastructure, and a green ship recycling facility.
Here are the key specifications:
Deep-water berths with drafts ranging from 12 to 18 metres. The 18-metre draft makes Saqr 2.0 the deepest port in the UAE – the current maximum draft at other UAE ports is approximately 15 metres. This depth allows the port to accommodate Capesize vessels, some of the largest cargo ships in the world.
Liquid bulk infrastructure with ultra-deep berths reaching approximately 24 metres of draft, designed to serve as a strategic transshipment hub for liquids, gases, and petrochemicals, with an annual capacity target of 100 million tonnes.
Project cargo capabilities including 35,000 MT heavy-lift capacity, a 15-tonne-per-square-metre quayside rating for heavy project cargo, and multiple assembly zones adjacent to berths for efficient cargo handling.
Direct free zone access via unobstructed 50-metre-wide corridors connecting the free zone directly to the port quayside – a feature that RAK Ports describes as rarely available in the region. The free zone will start at approximately 5 million square metres and is planned to expand to 12-14 million square metres in later phases.
Green ship recycling facility for sustainable dismantling of large vessels, with the existing Al Jazeera shipyard relocating to Saqr 2.0 to improve operations and expand services including yacht maintenance and logistics.
The phased rollout
Saqr 2.0 is being developed in multiple phases:
Phase One (operational by 2027) will add 6-10 new berths to the existing 47, bringing the total across the RAK Ports ecosystem to approximately 72 berths. This phase also adds approximately 50 million tonnes of annual cargo handling capacity on top of the existing 100 million tonne capacity. The initial free zone footprint will be approximately 5 million square metres with direct waterfront access.
Phase Two will continue expanding berth capacity and industrial infrastructure.
Phase Three (expected to run into the 2030s) takes a more flexible approach, adapting to customer requirements. The free zone is planned to expand from 5 million square metres to approximately 12-14 million square metres. Hugh Cox, chief commercial officer of RAK Ports, told Breakbulk that “Saqr 2.0 allows room for expansion and adaptability to future customer requirements.”
Why RAK Ports is doing this now
The timing of Saqr 2.0 is strategic. RAK Ports identified a significant gap in the market – demand for freezones directly connected to the quayside, combined with deeper drafts than what’s currently available in the UAE.
As Cox explained to Breakbulk: “We identified a significant gap in the market, where customers are actively seeking freezones directly connected to the quayside. In particular, we see strong demand for more quayside land and deeper drafts.”
The expansion aligns with RAK’s broader economic trajectory. S&P Global raised Ras Al Khaimah’s sovereign credit rating from ‘A-/A-2’ to ‘A/A-1’, with expectations that the emirate’s economic growth and fiscal position will remain strong until 2027 – driven by tourism infrastructure, the mining sector, economic freezones, real estate, and ports.
RAK Ports’ leadership has drawn a direct comparison to Dubai’s earlier transformation. Cox told Breakbulk: “The Saqr Port is transforming into what the Jebel Ali Port represented in the 1990s, and this is happening against the backdrop of Ras Al Khaimah’s economic growth and diversification.”
Investment already flowing in
Saqr 2.0 is already attracting investment commitments:
APT Global signed an MoU to invest approximately AED 50 million (US$13.6 million) to develop a 700,000-square-foot fabrication facility within RAK Maritime City Free Zone. The facility will enable APT Global to diversify into offshore fabrication, renewables, shipbuilding, and oil and gas sector construction, targeting export markets in Europe, the United States, and Far East Asia. The expansion will increase APT Global’s total footprint in RAK to approximately 2 million square feet.
Jianhua Holdings Group and PHC Technologies signed an MoU to establish the region’s first pre-stressed high-strength concrete (PHC) piles factory within RAK Maritime City Free Zone. The AED 120 million project will supply PHC piles to GCC and Asian markets, leveraging Saqr 2.0’s deep-water berths and integrated logistics. Annual port revenues from this facility alone are projected to exceed AED 20 million.
Both partnerships are examples of the type of advanced manufacturing and export-oriented industry that Saqr 2.0 is designed to attract – businesses that need direct quayside access for heavy, oversized, or specialised cargo.
What this means for RAK
Saqr 2.0 is more than a port expansion. It’s a statement about where Ras Al Khaimah sees itself in the regional economy.
The port is designed to complement – not compete with – neighbouring ports in Fujairah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Its focus on deep-water project cargo, liquid bulk transshipment, and integrated free zone manufacturing fills a specific gap in the UAE’s maritime infrastructure. This expansion runs alongside RAK’s tourism transformation, including the Wynn resort and hotel developments on Al Marjan Island and the continued growth of Jebel Jais as an adventure destination.
For RAK’s economy, the impact is direct. The port connects the emirate’s existing strengths – quarrying, cement production, building materials – to new markets and new industries. The free zone model means businesses can manufacture, assemble, and export from the same site with direct quayside access, reducing logistics complexity and cost.
It’s also a continuation of a very old story. RAK has been a trading port for over 7,000 years. Under its old name Julfar, it was one of the Gulf’s most powerful commercial centres, with trade connections to China, India, and East Africa. The pearl trade was so dominant that the Portuguese word for pearl – aljofar – may originate from the name Julfar.
The cargo has changed – pearls and porcelain have given way to aggregate, cement, and petrochemicals. The scale has changed – 75 million tonnes annually is a long way from pearl diving fleets. But the fundamental logic hasn’t changed at all. RAK sits at the top of the UAE, at the narrowing of the Gulf, with natural access to global shipping lanes. That geography made it a trading powerhouse 7,000 years ago, and Saqr 2.0 is the latest chapter in the same story.
Sources:
- Breakbulk (breakbulk.com) – “Building a New Maritime Hub in the Middle East,” April 2025. US$1 billion investment, draft specifications, phased development details, Hugh Cox quotes, S&P credit rating upgrade, Jebel Ali comparison
- Gulf News – “Saqr 2.0: Transforming Ras Al Khaimah into MENA’s deepest project cargo hub,” November 2025. Phase One berth additions, liquid bulk capacity, project cargo specifications, Jianhua Holdings/PHC Technologies MoU (AED 120M)
- RAK Ports (rakports.ae) – Five-port network, 75M+ tonnes annual cargo, Saqr Port as largest bulk port in Middle East and Africa
- WOW RAK (wow-rak.com) – “Ras Al Khaimah Announces New Port and Free Zone by 2027,” December 2024. 8 million sqm waterfront land, 18-metre deep-water berths, green ship recycling facility, Roy Cummins quotes
- The Maritime Standard (themaritimestandard.com) – “RAK Ports Promotes Saqr 2.0 Project,” July 2025. Current 60 berths expanding to 72, free zone expansion to 14 million sqm
- IndexBox / Day of Dubai – APT Global MoU, AED 50 million investment, 700,000 sqft fabrication facility, 2 million sqft total footprint
- Sev7n.ae – Green ship recycling details, RAK Maritime City Free Zone features, Roy Cummins quotes from RAKIS summit
- IDO (ido.ae) – RAK Ports portfolio overview, Saqr Port capacity up to 100 million tonnes
