The Abu Dhabi Ports Group signed a 15-year, $3 million concession deal with the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority (RSPA) to develop, manage, and enhance the passenger and cruise ship facilities at the Egyptian ports of Hurghada, Safaga, and Sharm El-Sheikh.
This agreement aligns with Egypt’s strategy to boost cruise tourism, similar to its expansion in yacht tourism, as stated by the Egyptian Ministry of Transportation.
The goal of the agreement is to improve these three ports to attract a greater number of international vessels, thereby increasing their operational capacity and broadening their role in transit trade.
Transportation Minister Kamel El-Wazir, present at the signing, highlighted Egypt’s ambition to utilize its strategic position to become a key player in global trade and logistics, aiming to augment transit trade and national income.
This partnership will also enable the establishment of a cruise line connecting the Egyptian ports with the UAE‘s Zayed Port and, eventually, with ports in the Arabian Gulf, the Port of Aqaba, as well as European and Asian ports. El-Wazir emphasized that this deal is a partnership, not a sale or acquisition of ports, reaffirming, “Egypt has not and will not sell its ports.”
Ahmed Al-Mutawa, the regional CEO of the Abu Dhabi group, expressed the group’s commitment to enhancing UAE-Egypt relations through this initiative.
The investment aims to elevate cruise tourism in the Red Sea, improve port services and facilities, and contribute to Egypt’s economic growth.
The full concession agreement is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2024, pending regulatory approvals.
This preliminary agreement follows another significant deal by AD Ports for the development and operation of the Safaga 2 multi-purpose terminal at Safaga Sea Port, with an investment of $200 million over three years.
Egypt’s ongoing efforts to attract foreign investments, particularly from Gulf countries, are part of its strategy to recover economically and meet its obligations under a $3 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed in 2022.
In May 2023, El-Wazir mentioned Egypt’s interest in Emirati partnerships for its planned $20 billion projects in the transport sector. Notably, Emirati investments in Egypt soared by 300 percent to $5.7 billion in the fiscal year 2021/2022.
