AD Ports Group ranks among global top 20 port operators, reveals survey

Image: WAM/ AD Ports Group

AD Ports Group has entered the global top 20 ranking of port operators, securing the 19th spot in the latest survey by Drewry, a UK-based maritime research and consulting firm.

The group’s rise in the rankings underscores its rapid expansion and growing industry clout, driven by strategic acquisitions and new operating concessions.

The inclusion of AD Ports Group in the Drewry Top 20 League Table, part of the firm’s 2024-2025 annual industry report, is a significant milestone for the UAE-based operator.

The ranking is based on container throughput, a key industry metric, with AD Ports Group reporting a 13 per cent year-on-year increase to 4.91 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2023.

Milestones supporting AD Ports Group’s rising prominence

AD Ports Group’s rise in the rankings follows its acquisition of Noatum, a Spanish logistics and port services company that operates 16 terminals across Spain.

This acquisition, along with a 50-year concession to manage four berths at Karachi Port in Pakistan, expanded the group’s global terminal portfolio by 14 per cent to 9.7 million TEUs in 2023.

The group’s total volumes at its UAE terminals also increased by 6 per cent to 4.6 million TEUs.

“The inclusion of AD Ports Group in the Drewry Top 20 League Table of container port operators confirms the growing international significance of our Group,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, MD and group CEO of AD Ports Group. “As we pursue our value-driven expansion in trade, maritime, logistics, and industrial development, we are committed to maintaining a leading industry role.”

AD Ports Group’s Ports Cluster has continued its strong growth into 2024, with Q2 revenue rising 83 per cent year-on-year to Dhs563m.

The group’s expansion strategy is focused on developing multipurpose terminals in key markets, including the Indian subcontinent, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, South Asia, and Africa.

Recent agreements include concessions to operate terminals in Safaga, Egypt; Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo; and Luanda, Angola.

In June 2024, AD Ports Group, in a joint venture with Adani, acquired a 95 per cent stake in Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), further expanding its footprint in Africa.

These developments are expected to increase the group’s terminal portfolio capacity by more than 60 per cent to 14.5 million TEUs over the next five years.

AD Ports Group is also strengthening its Logistics Cluster, which was rebranded as Noatum Logistics following the acquisition.

The group’s logistics revenue more than tripled in 2023 to Dhs1.94bn, and in the first half of 2024, the cluster generated Dhs2.2bn, accounting for 26 per cent of the group’s overall revenue.