Abu Dhabi-UAE: 29 June, 2016

Abu Dhabi Ports and Agthia Group PJSC have signed a lease agreement aimed at expanding the Group's existing 'Grand Mills Flour and Animal Feed' facilities at Zayed Port. The new agreement was signed by Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports and Iqbal Hamzah, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group at Abu Dhabi Ports headquarters on [add date].

The contract between the two parties incorporates a 25-year agreement for a 85,700m2 plot of land, which when fully developed by Agthia will include dedicated bulk grain silos, logistics warehousing and onsite bagging facilities.

The expansion in capacity will allow the Agthia Group to increase their current capacity of 930,000 tonnes per annum to 1.5 million tonnes when fully developed.

Commenting on the agreement, Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports said: "This agreement is an important addition to our list of partnerships that will contribute towards driving the investment, growth and development of the trade and maritime sectors. This expansion undertaken by Grand Mills, a subsidiary of Agthia, is an important economic boost that will support the growth and progress of the food and beverage sector, which will cater to the needs of the local consumers."

Al Shamisi added: "Abu Dhabi Ports is very pleased to be part of this expansion of Agthia Group. Since the very beginning, our top priority has been to support our customers and the development of their business. Therefore, we are keen to work with various institutions on an ongoing basis to ensure meeting their operational needs by investing in the equipment available at Zayed Port, which will in turn be beneficial to the Abu Dhabi economy ."

Iqbal Hamzah, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group said: "Our current production capacity utilization rate at Grand Mills is at around 90% levels. When combined with our business growth projections, this necessitates an expansion in both our milling and storage capacity beyond 2017. In this regard, Agthia has already started undergoing the construction of an additional 50-thousand-ton capacity grain silos on Abu Dhabi Ports' existing plot. This agreement will secure supplementary land essential for future expansion right adjacent to Agthia's current facilities.

Established as Flour Mills and Animal Feed Company in 1978 by the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Grand Mills is one of the few true heritage companies of the UAE. As a subsidiary of Agthia Group since 2004, Grand Mills manufactures and supplies its Grand Mills Flour and Agrivita Animal Feed products to UAE and beyond.

-End-

About Abu Dhabi Ports
Established in 2006, Abu Dhabi Ports celebrates ten years of innovation, growth and partnership embarking on another decade of facilitating economic diversification through enabling maritime and trade development. This is done by delivering high quality maritime services, supporting partners' infrastructure projects and setting up new companies and joint ventures in the ports and logistics sectors.

The flagship state-of-the-art Khalifa Port and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) play a pivotal role in the diversification of the economy.  Khalifa Port was inaugurated on 12/12/12 by the UAE President H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The port's semi-automated container terminal handles all of Abu Dhabi's container traffic, after its transfer from Zayed Port, the historic port in the city centre.

Khalifa Port's current capacity is 2.5 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units/containers) and 12 million tonnes of general cargo. Further phases of development will occur as market demand requires. When all phases are complete, Khalifa Port will be able to handle 15 million TEUs and 35 million tonnes of general cargo per year.

Abu Dhabi Ports manages ten commercial, logistics, community and leisure ports, and Khalifa Industrial Zone that is serving a range of logistics and manufacturing investors. Abu Dhabi Ports is boosting Abu Dhabi's economic growth and diversification, in line with the Abu Dhabi's Economic Vision. 

Follow us on twitter: @AbuDhabiPorts

About Agthia
Agthia Group is a leading Abu Dhabi based food and beverage company established in 2004. The Company is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and has the symbol "AGTHIA". 51 percent of the Company's shares are held by Senaat (General Holding Corporation), an Abu Dhabi Government entity, with the balance held by retail and institutional investors.

The Company's assets are located in the UAE, Oman, Egypt and Turkey. Agthia offers a world class portfolio of integrated businesses providing high quality and trusted food and beverage products for customers and consumers across the UAE, GCC, Turkey and the wider Middle East.

Agthia employs over 3,500 employees under two business units operating in various food and beverage segments: Agri Business: UAE - manufacturing, distribution and marketing of Grand Mills, the leading high quality flour, and Agrivita, leading animal feed products. Consumer Business: UAE - manufacturing, distribution and marketing of several brands including Al Ain water; Al Bayan water; Capri-Sun juices; Yoplait fresh dairy products. Oman: Al Bayan water; Egypt - Al Ain tomato and chilli paste, and fruit puree. Turkey - Alpin, natural spring bottled water.

© Press Release 2016