Dubai’s DP World signs 20-year concession agreement with Angola

The Dubai-headquartered port operator DP World has signed a 20-year concession agreement with the government of Angola to operate the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) at the Port of Luanda.

DP World will invest $190m over the 20-year period, with plans to rehabilitate the existing infrastructure and acquire new equipment to bring operations at the port in line with global standards and improve its efficiency.

The upgrades are expected to increase the terminal’s annual throughput to approximately 700,000 TEUs per year.

A modern port management system will also be established, and further training and development of Angolan staff employed at the terminal will be undertaken.

.@DP_World signs a 20-year concession agreement with the Government of Angola to operate the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) at the Port of Luanda https://t.co/mDGkEfN8Nv pic.twitter.com/qdKEeMFXu9

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 25, 2021

“Maintaining the jobs of workers assigned to the terminal, the implementation of a training and capacity building plan in different areas by the concessionaire, and the inclusion of middle and senior Angolan staff in its decision-making structure, are some of the other gains from this relationship that we greatly appreciate,” said Ricardo de Abreu, Angola’s Minister of Transport.

The Port of Luanda is Angola’s largest port and is located in a natural bay in the country’s capital Luanda.

Its location, which makes it a mandatory stop on the sea routes along the west of the African continent, gives it the opportunity to benefit from trade flows into the surrounding region, reported Dubai Media Office.

The terminal will be developed into the largest facility of its kind in Angola.

The MPT at the port handles both containers and general cargo, and has a pier of 610 meters, a depth of 12.5 meters and a yard of 23 hectares.

The agreement follows an international tender process in which DP World was selected by an evaluation committee set up by the Angolan Ministry of Transport as the preferred bidder.

The MPT will be the first seaport terminal located on the western coast of Southern Africa to be operated and managed by DP World.

“Our entry into Angola and planned investment in the terminal, as outlined in the agreement, reflects our belief in the potential for further economic growth in the country,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World.

“We look forward to playing our role in supporting the government to achieve its growth objectives through this key sector by leveraging our expertise, not just as a port operator, but also as a global provider of end-to-end logistics solutions,” added Sultan Ahmed.

DP World’s concession agreement with another African country, Djibouti, resulted in litigation with six substantive rulings made in DP World’s favour by tribunals at the London Court of International Arbitration and the High Court of England and Wales. It ordered Djibouti to restore the rights and benefits under the 2006 concession agreement to DP World and Doraleh Container Terminal within two months, or pay damages.

Read: Dubai’s DP World dismisses Djibouti President’s remarks about disputed port as “false”