Seaports have long been important to regional economies, moving goods, people and military forces around the world. While seaports are important to the modern global economy, their role in generating local economy development is less clear especially for developing countries. In United Arab Emirates (UAE), the rapid growth of Dubai Ports and desired closure of Jebel Ali Port will not have sufficient capacity for containers and other vessels in the future. Therefore, this article presents measurement components for the impacts of seaport characteristics on economic development of developing countries. A thorough literature review were done in order to clarify the measurement components in the field of seaport issues such as characteristics, systems, activities, performances, and economy development. As a result, six components for measuring the impacts of port characteristics on economic development that are; (i) Location and Hinterland; (ii) Hinterland Access; (iii) Draft and Accessibility; (iv) Presence of firms in the Port; (v) Port and terminal efficiency; (vi) Port charges. These measuring components will play a very vital role by showing how important seaports to the economy development of developing countries. Case study on UAE ports will be held in order to validate the measurement components. Results of this study will squarely help the policy makers of developing countries as regard to seaports and its impact on economy development.