Abu Dhabi ports boost Sudan’s ailing economy with massive project
Sudan has ended speculation and interpretations that accompanied its development, management and operation project to develop Abu Amama port in northern Port Sudan, and originally doubted the possibility of its completion, amid objections from entities that considered it a threat to local and regional ports in the region, because of the fragile infrastructure and the inability to keep up with services that are expected to be more competitive, capable and effective.
Khartoum on Tuesday signed an agreement in principle with a consortium of Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Invictus Investment Company to develop, manage and operate the port and the Red Sea economic zone. The investments are expected to be huge and will generate profits that will bring economic benefits in a strategic area.
The project includes an economic area, an airport, a commercial area and an agricultural area, Sudanese Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said at the signing ceremony. This indicates an integrated and interconnected infrastructure that will help achieve the declared goals of development, advancement and employment opportunities, he said.
Former Sudanese Minister of Transport Mirghani Moussa Hamad, according to the local newspaper Al-Sudani, said that this initial agreement paves the way for the renaissance and prosperity of the Port Sudan region.
He also confirmed the commitment of the Sudanese side and investors to build a water pipeline from the Nile to Port Sudan and to the Port of Abu Amama. In addition, he said that a road will be paved between Abu Hamad and the port, and that 4% of the total profits of the port will be allocated to the development of the local community.
The project includes a port attached to a free zone that includes industrial and commercial cities and a land route between the Red Sea and the Nile River, he said.
The port, built and managed by the UAE’s flagship port development company, will provide a source of value for Sudan’s struggling economy and is expected to contribute, according to Sudanese officials and experts, an opportunity for growth as well as other benefits, including linking the port by land and air routes.
It is also expected to provide jobs to local communities in Port Sudan through industrial facilities that will be linked to the project, which will be an important source of funding for Sudan, which is suffering from its worst financial crisis.
A few months ago, Sudan’s Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim signaled the authorities’ acceptance of the UAE project amid controversy and objections from some parties who viewed the project as lacking in outlook and rumors, fearing that it would affect other local ports that will be “incapable” of keeping up with the new port. These fears are being offset by the promising economic gains of the project and the large benefits that the Sudanese side will reap.
At the time, he said, the chairman of the Sovereignty Council formed a special committee comprised of ministers, customs, army, governors and others to study the UAE offer in earnest. He said the UAE project also includes other projects, such as building an industrial area and a tourist area, an agricultural project covering 500,000 acres in Abu Hamad, and building a road linking the port to an agricultural project.
