Gulftainer opens Fujairah–Sharjah bonded route with inland customs clearance

Gulftainer has launched a bonded logistics corridor connecting Fujairah Terminal with Sharjah Dry Ports in Sajaa, United Arab Emirates (UAE), allowing customers to transfer cargo under customs control and complete clearance in Sharjah. The service, reported on 9 November 2026, adds an inland distribution option for shipments arriving through Fujairah.

The launch follows the renaming of Gulftainer’s Sajaa facility as Sharjah Dry Ports and forms part of the company’s expansion of connections between maritime terminals, inland storage facilities and customer markets.

How will the bonded corridor operate?

Cargo can move from Fujairah to the Sharjah inland facility under customs bond, with clearance undertaken at the destination. This gives importers an alternative to completing the process at their initial port of arrival.

Gulftainer has included an offer of 12 days’ free storage with the service. The available announcement does not specify eligible cargo categories or other conditions attached to the offer.

The company has also not disclosed expected corridor volumes, transport frequency or transit times. Consequently, the launch establishes a new routing and clearance option, but does not yet provide a basis for quantifying delivery-time or cost savings.

What facilities are available at Sharjah Dry Ports?

Gulftainer announced the Sharjah Dry Ports name on 6 November, describing the change as reflecting Sajaa’s wider role in serving manufacturing areas, distribution centres and trade routes across the Northern Emirates.

The facility covers 70 hectares and is located approximately 90 kilometres from Khorfakkan Port. Its infrastructure includes a 50,000-square-metre paved yard, 5,000 square metres of warehousing and 30,000 square metres of bulk and container storage.

According to the company, the site offers direct road connections to major UAE ports, bonded storage and cold-chain services. Rail connectivity is identified as a future development.

Gulftainer also reported that the facility had handled 150,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in a single month, its highest monthly throughput. The announcement did not identify the month concerned. This figure relates to the inland facility’s overall activity, rather than the newly launched Fujairah corridor.

How does the route fit Gulftainer’s inland expansion?

The Fujairah connection adds to a broader programme of inland logistics development in Sharjah.

In June 2026, Gulftainer announced plans for the Al Dhaid Multi-Modal Trade Corridor, a separate 150-hectare development with planned annual capacity of 1.5 million TEUs. Located approximately 50 kilometres from Khorfakkan Port, the project is intended to extend the port’s inland handling capabilities.

The proposed infrastructure includes an inland container yard, an empty-container depot and a container freight station for consolidating cargo. Gulftainer also envisages integration with Etihad Rail and a single-window clearance environment.

The Al Dhaid development is being advanced through a public-private partnership with Sharjah Ports Authority. Its planned capacity and rail connections should be distinguished from the operating facilities at Sharjah Dry Ports and the newly introduced Fujairah service.

What changes for shippers and logistics providers?

The immediate commercial change is the ability to combine arrival through Fujairah with bonded inland movement, storage and customs clearance in Sharjah. This could be useful for businesses organising distribution from the Northern Emirates, although suitability will depend on cargo requirements and the service’s commercial terms.

The corridor also reinforces the role of inland terminals in handling activities beyond the seaport. For customers, the next practical details will be the applicable transport tariff, movement schedule and conditions governing free storage. Until these are established, the service is best assessed as an additional logistics option rather than a confirmed reduction in total landed cost.