Adani Group acquires Israel’s Haifa Port
ADANI Group won the tender for the privatisation of the state-owned Haifa Port in Israel.
A joint venture between Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India's largest private multi-port operator and Israel's Gadot Chemicals Tankers and Terminals Ltd won the bid for Haifa, for $1.18bn.
The JV will acquire a 100 percent stake in Haifa Port Company. While the majority stake in the port, of 70 percent, will be held by APSEZ, Gadot wIll own the remaining 30 percent.
Israel had set a condition that the winning bidder should invest a minimum of $285.78m in Haifa Port Company's capital.
Haifa is Israel's second largest port and serves as a major trade hub on the country's
Mediterranean coast. The city is Israel's transportation and industrial centre and a key railway hub along the Mediterranean.
The group chairman Gautam Adani took to Twitter, to say 'delighted to win the tender for the privatization of the Port of Haifa in Israel with our partner Gadot. Immense strategic and historical significance for both nations!.'
Israel is selling its state-owned ports and building new private docks to encourage competition and lower costs. Delays and inefficiencies have plagued the state-owned ports. Given that about 99 per cent of all goods move in and out of Israel over the sea, the government decided to privatise ports to maintain economic growth.
Once upgraded by the new developers, Haifa port needs to compete with Haifa New Port Terminal, an already functional automated container port constructed by the China
Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG). The greenfield port in Haifa was developed under the BOT (Built-own-Transfer) model, with construction followed by a 25-year arrangement.
The first phase of Haifa New Port, constructed at the cost of 5.5 billion shekels ($1.7 billion), was officially opened in Sep 2021, becoming the first new port in the Middle Eastern country in the past 60 years.
The construction of the Haifa New Port Terminal project began in 2018. Planned to be developed in two phases, an 805.5-meter shoreline terminal with an annual container throughput of more than 1 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) was developed as part of the first phase.