The port is part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to the south via the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the North Sea.

With 67 berths and a size of 134.68 square kilometres (52.00 sq mi), Jebel Ali is the world's largest man-made harbour and the biggest port in the Middle-East.

[12] Due to the depth of the harbour and size of the port facilities, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and several ships of the accompanying battle group can be accommodated pier-side.

Due to the frequency of these port visits, semi-permanent liberty facilities (referred to by service personnel as "The Sandbox") have been erected adjacent to the carrier berth.

In addition, Port Jebel Ali also consist of 960 thousand square metres of open storage.

Stage one was completed in 2007, which has increased the storage and handling capacity by 2.2 million TEUs and a Quay length of 1,200 m.[18] The entire project includes 2.4 km of new berths, the container yard behind the berths and the supporting infrastructure and buildings necessary for a fully functioning terminal.