diff --git a/apps/portal/Dockerfile b/apps/portal/Dockerfile
index d613bd4c..02fc45e6 100644
--- a/apps/portal/Dockerfile
+++ b/apps/portal/Dockerfile
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ COPY packages/shared/ ./packages/shared/
 COPY apps/portal/ ./apps/portal/
 COPY tsconfig.json ./
 
+# Ensure public directory exists even if the repo doesn't have one
+RUN mkdir -p /app/apps/portal/public
+
 # Copy node_modules from deps stage
 COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
 COPY --from=deps /app/packages/shared/node_modules ./packages/shared/node_modules