Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a 35-year concession to develop and manage the Port of Fujairah, the state-owned company said on Tuesday, two months after Dubai-owned DP World's contract ended there.

Fujairah, located on the United Arab Emirates' east coast, is the country's only multi-purpose port outside the Strait of Hormuz, giving it direct access to the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

Abu Dhabi Ports' plans include deepening berths to 16.5 metres and building a 1 kilometre quay and a 300,000 square metre storage yard, it said in a statement, which did not disclose financial details.

DP World said on April 16 it had ended its agreement to expand and develop Fujairah, without giving a reason.

Fujairah is strategically important to the UAE as one of its two sea links outside the Strait of Hormuz. It is part of a cross-country gas pipeline from Qatar, and the UAE is also planning to build an oil refinery there with a capacity of up to 400,000 barrels per day.

The Port of Fujairah's capacity is expected to reach 1 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) and 700,000 tonnes of general cargo by 2030, the Abu Dhabi Ports statement said.

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