UAE Pays $220m to Lease Part of Karachi Port in Pakistan

The Abu Dhabi Ports Group of the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that it has signed a $220 million deal to take over the management of 4 berths in the Port of Karachi.

The deal comes at a time when the Pakistani economy is in a severe crisis, and foreign investment is urgently needed to help pay off sovereign debt.

Abu Dhabi Ports Group has entered into a joint venture with UAE-based Kahil Terminals to enter into an agreement with the Karachi Port State Fund.

The Port of Karachi is Pakistan’s oldest and busiest port, with 33 berths, an agreement with the UAE states that four of them will be leased over the next fifty years.

“The joint venture will invest heavily in infrastructure and superstructure development over the next ten years,” Abu Dhabi Ports Group said in a statement in Arabic.

The project also includes plans to deepen the berths to allow larger vessels to moor, expand the quay wall and increase the size of the container storage area.

As a result, the terminal will be able to receive ships capable of carrying up to 8.5 thousand containers, and the throughput will increase from 750 thousand to 1 million containers per year.

The UAE is a major contributor to Pakistan’s economy through grants, loans and direct investment.

Source: AFP.