The UAE's AD Ports Group has formed a joint venture (JV) with a subsidiary  of India's Adani Ports, and East Harbour Terminals Limited, to acquire a 95% stake in a major container port in Tanzania from the Hutchison ports group for $39.5 million.

The JV, East Africa Gateway Limited (EAGL), based in KEZAD in Abu Dhabi, acquired the stake in Tanzania International Container Terminal Services Ltd (TICTS) from Hutchison Port Holdings Limited, Hutchison Port Investments Limited and Harbours Investment Limited, a statement from the ADX-listed port operator said on Monday.

The deal is expected to be completed by end of June.  

TICTS will operate the terminal, which has an annual container capacity of 1 million TEUs, handled about 0.82 million TEUs in 2023, representing 83% of Tanzania’s total container volumes.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) in a recent statement said its subsidiary, Adani International Ports Holdings Pte Ltd., signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanzania Ports Authority to operate and manage Container Terminal 2 at the Dar es Salaam Port.  

APSEZ will be the controlling shareholder and will consolidate EAGL on its books, it said. AD Ports, the Abu-Dhabi based  logistics and trade facilitator, will own 30% of the newly formed JV.

(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)

brinda.darasha@lseg.com