Haifa Port is going to be Adani Ports’ biggest revenue generator outside India

HAIFA:Israel’sstrategicHaifaPort will be Adani Ports & SEZ’s (APSEZ) biggest revenue generator outside India,aseniorexecutivesaid.

APSEZ is also building an incubation centre at the port there which will be the biggest startup accelerator for the group, said the executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

India’s largest port operator is first focussedonthecitysidedevelopmentof the Haifa port, which would include the setting up of convention centres and hotelsapartfromtheincubationcentre, saidtheexecutive.

APSEZ is in talks with multiple partners including cruise operators to bolster tourist arrivals to the port, he added. It is also working closely with local municipal bodies to make the masterplan for city side development, he said. The company has 800 employees at the Haifa port including seniormanagementandportworkers.

APSEZ, in a 70:30 consortium with IsraelichemicalcompanyGadotGroup, had won the tender for privatising the

OTP-based

port at $1.18 billion. It took over the port inJanuary.

Haifa is the second largest port and one of the three major ports in Israel. Apartfromoperatingcontainercargo,it is the biggest hub for tourist cruises in the region. Over the years, Haifa has becomeincreasingly critical forIsrael’s thawing political relations with Gulf states, which have led to it harbouring ambitioustradetieswiththeregion.

“Strategically it is very well located. It is the eastern most harbour in the Mediterranean. Everyone wants to do economic activity there. There are future plans to connect the Middle East to the Mediterranean starting at UAE and concluding at Haifa via rail route, which will connect Saudi Arabia and Jordan on the rail corridor,” said the APSEZexecutive.

Haifa port also is strategically located for transhipment of cargo through the Mediterranean Sea through the UAE to ports in Europe. It provides an alternative route to the current more expensive one that goesviatheSuezCanal.

“Right now, every ship sailing through the Mediterranean has to pass through the Suez Canal. Prices keep going up. So, when the port is modernised and the railway connectivity is developed, it will reduce transit time and make an alternate gateway to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and theUAEandtoEurope,”headded.

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Head of India practice at the Eurasia Group, said the alternative route and operations would increase efficiency of transportation by 60%.

Cargo railway lines are being planned to connect the UAE to Israel via Jordan and potentially Saudi Arabia, and Haifa would be integrated into the larger network. Last year, Chinese rival Shanghai International Port Group opened a containerterminaljustnextdoor.

APSEZ operates 13 ports in India and handles 24% of the country’s cargo. Earlier this year, it became the first Indian port operator to take over a Sri Lankan port.