Sharjah is to get a Dh30 million ($8.16 million) inland container depot. Container terminal operator Gulftainer, which functions on behalf of Sharjah Ports and Customs Authority, will start work on the depot this month, with completion scheduled for June, it said. The project consultant and primary contractor will be finalised shortly.

Located near the University City complex, the 150,000-sq-m site will be capable of holding up to 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), and is aimed at meeting the projected demand for the next 10 years.

The new facility would more than double Sharjah's existing container holding capacity. Currently, boxes coming in from the emirate's east coast port of Khor Fakkan are stored at Mina Khalid, which has a container holding capacity of 12,000 TEU. It would also free up space at Mina Khalid to accommodate general cargo.

The depot will be built on the Sharjah/Dubai border, close to the Emirates Highway, and near industrial areas.

The access road will be a six-lane highway extending all the way to the east coast as a direct link. This will enable containers offloaded at Khor Fakkan to come in directly into the planned facility.

Related infrastructure Ñ customs clearance, health inspection, warehousing, reefer plugs and monitoring, transport offices and container repair facilities - will be created onsite.