Djibouti dreams of becoming new Dubai?

For years the Horn of Africa nation Djibouti was seen by foreign powers as a far-flung military outpost overlooking the Gulf of Aden.

The strategic port wants to capitalise on its key position on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the gateway to the Suez canal

Djibouti offers an African base across from the Arabian Peninsula at the crossroads for cargo traffic between Asia and Europe.Now the strategic port wants to capitalise on its key position on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the gateway to the Suez canal.

It may be a tiny country of around 850,000 people, but it has a bold ambition to become the commercial hub of eastern Africa, building on its role as the main port for landlocked Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country.

To achieve that the former French colony has embarked on a series of infrastructure projects expected to cost some $14 billion (12.6 billion euros).

Offshore from historic Djibouti city, the waters are crowded with a mix of hulking warships, giant container cargo vessels and the traditional wooden fishing dhows that have plied the seas here for centuries.

But a short drive away, Chinese workers are busy building a giant new terminal dedicated to container ships from Asia.

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Dutch warship The Johan de Witt used by the European Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), pictured at the French  …

Work is concentrated on the first of six new specialised docking terminals -- each one focusing on different commodities including minerals, livestock, oil and gas -- to add to the two terminals already in operation.

- 'A Dubai, even Singapore!' -

"More and more shipping lines are interested in Djibouti, we are now making the way to be a Dubai, even Singapore!" said Suleiman Ahmed, a senior executive at Doraleh container terminal.