Agility files case against Kuwait Public Authority of Industry

Agility, one of the region’s biggest logistics companies, is seeking legal action against Kuwait’s Public Authority of Industry for not renewing its lease contract for a large parcel of industrial land in the Gulf state.

Agility, based in Kuwait, said the PAI had indicated it would not renew a contract relating to 1 million square metre industrial land that generates about 6.5 million Kuwaiti dinars (Dh78.9m) annually for the company. The land is located in South Amghara in Kuwait, where the are several industrial and scrap facilities, said the company, which is listed on both the Dubai and Kuwaiti bourses, in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Financial impacts of the lease collapse cannot be assessed at present, it added.

Agility is pursuing legal actions against the industrial authority because it believed “it has the right for this contract to be renewed”, it said.

The case against the PAI was filed on Monday, Agility disclosed, with the next hearing scheduled for September 5. In February, the company posted a 22.5 per cent increase in fourth-quarter net profit, with revenues from its international logistics business driving much of its growth.

Agility, which was formerly the main food supplier to the US army in Iraq, is expanding into new areas and regions to diversify its revenue base. It is also investing heavily in Africa, building a mall in the UAE and setting up a logistics park in Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest economy.

In an interview with The National in February, Mohammad Jaber, the company’s chief operating offer and regional director for logistics projects, said Agility was eyeing a larger share of oil-andgas projects in the region,.

He said both the Middle East and African regions would remain future hotspots for expansions.

Agility, formerly main food supplier to the US army in Iraq, is expanding into new areas and regions