AD Ports Group has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Red Sea Ports Authority to develop and operate a multi-purpose port in Safaga, Egypt. As per the terms of the deal, the Abu Dhabi-based group will be responsible for the development and operation of a multi-purpose terminal at Safaga Port, which is billed as a strategic location on the Red Sea coast of Egypt.
Safaga Port will be the first internationally operated port in the Upper Egypt region, bringing significant cost savings to traders, industries and businesses located in this region, a statement from the firm pointed out.
The terminal will come up an area of 810,000sqm and is set to be operational in Q2 2025. It will boast a quay wall of up to 1,000m and it will have the capacity to handle five million tonnes of dry bulk and general cargo, one million tonnes of liquid bulk, 450,000 TEUs of containerised cargo, and 50,000 CEUs of RoRo.
In addition to this, the AD Ports Group has signed two 15-year agreements – a MoU and three Head of Terms (HoTs) – concerning ports located in Egypt’s Red Sea region and Mediterranean Sea, enabling a major expansion of the group’s activities into Egypt. These agreements allow for expanded access to multipurpose terminals, cruise routes, and logistics capabilities in Safaga, Ain Sokhna, Port Said, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Al Arish, said the Abu Dhabi company in its statement.
AD Ports Group explained that it will invest a total of $200mn in superstructure and equipment, buildings, and other real estate facilities and utilities’ network inside the concession area. The majority of this CapEx will be spent in 2024 and 2025.
Moreover, agreements for the development of two cement terminals in Al Arish Port and West Port Said Port were also signed between AD Ports Group and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, requiring a combined investment of $33mn in both terminals.
