Transportation & Logistics
The GCC Has Built the Maritime Trade and Logistics Infrastructure. It Now Needs a Regional Resilience System
DP World’s latest push to strengthen east-coast logistics routes points to a larger strategic shift in the Gulf.
1. Infrastructure exists; integration is the gap The GCC already has ports, railways, roads and pipelines. The bigger challenge is making them work as one regional network during disruption. 2. Hormuz resilience needs geographic spread Fujairah and Sohar reduce dependence on the Strait, but Red Sea and Arabian Sea routes add stronger strategic redundancy. 3. Operational readiness will decide success Spare capacity, shared customs, logistics data, storage and regular stress tests will determine how quickly cargo can shift when a corridor fails.
DP World’s latest move to strengthen east-coast logistics routes deserves to be seen as more than a response to shipping pressure around the Strait of Hormuz. It raises a larger question about how the Gulf thinks about economic resilience.
The GCC has spent decades building some of the world’s most advanced ports, airports, roads, pipelines and logistics zones. These assets have supported trade growth, industrialisation and the rise of the Gulf as a global transport hub.
Yet the regional network still has a structural weakness. Much of the infrastructure has been planned and operated within national boundaries. Hormuz disruption, however, is a regional problem. It affects shipping schedules, fuel exports, food imports, insurance costs, industrial production and government revenues across several countries at once.
The UAE is better positioned than many economies because it already has several alternatives. Fujairah provides access to the Gulf of Oman. The Habshan–Fujairah pipeline allows crude exports to avoid the Strait. Etihad Rail connects ports, industrial zones and the Saudi border. Hafeet Rail will add a direct link to Sohar in Oman.
These projects can support a land bridge between Gulf-facing cities and ports outside Hormuz. Their full value will only be realised when they function as one operating network.
Saudi Arabia’s west coast can provide the next layer of resilience. Jeddah Islamic Port offers access to the Red Sea and has already supported overland cargo movements during maritime disruption. The planned Saudi Landbridge could eventually connect Jeddah, Riyadh and the eastern region. Yanbu already plays a similar role for energy through the East–West pipeline.
Oman adds further options. Sohar is the most practical connection for the UAE because of Hafeet Rail. Duqm and Salalah offer greater distance from the Hormuz area and could support selected cargo, storage and industrial flows over time.
The biggest constraints are no longer engineering constraints. They are operational and institutional.
A corridor is useful during a crisis only when cargo can be diverted quickly. That requires spare berth capacity, available trains and trucks, inland warehouses, strategic reserves, digital visibility and customs authorities that can act within hours rather than weeks.
The GCC therefore needs a regional corridor-resilience framework. It should identify alternative routes for food, medicine, fuel and industrial inputs. It should define how port capacity will be shared during emergencies. It should establish common customs procedures for diverted cargo and test the system through regular simulations.
This approach also has wider economic value. Better regional links can support manufacturing, logistics parks, inland cities and employment beyond the main coastal centres. They can improve supply-chain reliability and protect public revenue during periods of disruption.
The Gulf has already invested heavily in physical connectivity. Its next task is to build institutional connectivity around those assets.
The strongest regional economy will not be the one with the largest port or longest railway. It will be the one that can keep trade moving when the usual route stops working.