March 2026 — Two initiatives in a few days. A clear signal.
Two Bilateral Corridors That Are Redrawing the Map
Within the space of a single week, the Gulf region announced two bilateral logistics corridors. Together, they are concretely reshaping the architecture of regional supply chains. These are not statements of intent. Instead, they are operational agreements with defined customs procedures, identified hubs, and operators already involved.
The context is one that has been building for weeks. The double chokepoint crisis — the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea/Bab el-Mandeb — continues to generate pressure on access routes to Gulf ports. However, the response from regional governments has not been to wait for a diplomatic resolution. Rather, it has taken the form of infrastructure.
The Dubai–Oman Green Corridor: A Certified Alternative Route by Land
On 12 March 2026, Dubai Customs published Customs Notice No. 04/2026, signed by Director General Dr. Abdulla Busenad. The subject was the official activation of the Green Corridor between the Emirate of Dubai and the maritime ports of the Sultanate of Oman, for goods transported overland.
The corridor operates in both directions. For inbound goods towards Dubai, merchandise arrives at Omani ports from the rest of the world. Subsequently, it is cleared through Oman’s customs procedures and transits under supervision to the Al Wajajah crossing. Finally, it enters the UAE through the Hatta border point, where Dubai Customs completes the clearance process. For outbound goods from Dubai, the flow simply reverses: a declaration is filed in Dubai, goods are inspected at Hatta, passed through Al Wajajah, cleared through Omani customs, and shipped from Oman’s maritime ports.
Furthermore, the notice specifies final clearance points based on cargo destination: the Dry Port Customs Center for the local market, and the relevant customs centres at Dubai’s ports or free zones for other destinations. Notably, certain product categories listed in the annex remain outside the simplified corridor and follow standard customs procedures.
Importantly, the Green Corridor is not an emergency measure. Rather, it is permanent infrastructure, developed over months of coordination between Dubai Customs and the Oman Directorate General of Customs. As Article 7 of the circular states, it is “in force from the date of issuance until further notice.”
The Sharjah–Dammam Trade Bridge: Multimodal Integration Between the UAE and Saudi Arabia
Just days later, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), in partnership with UAE logistics operator Gulftainer, announced a new multimodal logistics corridor. Specifically, it links Sharjah directly with Dammam, integrating maritime and land transport to improve cargo flow and reduce transit times.
At the heart of the corridor sits the Khorfakkan Commercial Terminal. Strategically, it is positioned on the UAE’s eastern coast — outside the Strait of Hormuz — with a direct connection to the Sajaa Dry Port in Sharjah as the inland hub. Moreover, the corridor extends to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with Dammam as the gateway to the Saudi market.
Mawani has described the initiative as a step that strengthens logistics integration and supports smooth goods flow between the two countries. Additionally, the trade bridge covers integration between ports and inland logistics hubs, improvements to border crossing processes, and a measurable reduction in transit times.
What These Two Initiatives Mean, Together
Taken individually, each of these initiatives would already be significant. Together, however, read within the same week and against a backdrop of intense stress on Gulf routes, they tell a more structural story.
In essence, the countries of the region are deliberately building logistics redundancy — not as an emergency response, but as intentional architecture. Consequently, the key nodes of this new map are clear: Khorfakkan as an alternative maritime access point outside the Strait of Hormuz; Omani ports as gateways for goods flowing to or from Dubai; Hatta and Al Wajajah as certified land crossings under the Dubai–Oman agreement; the Sajaa Dry Port as a multimodal inland hub in the UAE–Saudi corridor; and Dammam as the entry point to the Kingdom’s Eastern Province.
Therefore, for Gulf economies heavily dependent on international trade, this represents a strategic shift. Priority is now being assigned to redundancy, flexibility, and infrastructure integration as tools to safeguard economic continuity in an increasingly volatile regional environment.
What Changes for Italian Companies Exporting to or Importing from the Region
For Italian operators with cargo flows to or from the Gulf, these developments open concrete scenarios worth understanding now.
First, in terms of routing flexibility, goods destined for Dubai are no longer bound to direct access via the Gulf. The route through Omani ports — Sohar, Salalah, Muscat — has become a customs-structured alternative, not an improvised workaround. Additionally, the formalisation of these corridors brings codified procedures and defined documentation — bill of lading, cargo manifest, customs declarations — meaning greater predictability in both transit times and costs. Finally, for companies exporting to Saudi Arabia, the Sharjah–Dammam trade bridge offers an integrated multimodal route that reduces dependence on direct maritime lanes through the Strait.
The Logistics Geography of the Gulf Is Being Rewritten in Real Time
What is unfolding across the Gulf is not a temporary adaptation. Rather, it is the construction of a new regional logistics architecture, built around alternative corridors, multimodal integration, and bilateral customs agreements that will remain operational well beyond the current crisis.
For companies operating with the region, the right moment to understand these flows — and position themselves accordingly — is now. Kelmer Group’s UAE team is available to support Italian businesses in navigating the new commercial and regulatory landscape emerging from these developments.
👉 Get in touch with our Dubai team
Sources: Dubai Customs, Customs Notice No. 04/2026 (12/03/2026) — Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), official announcement (22/03/2026) — The National, GCC Business News, Gulf Business