AD Ports signs Jordan Aqaba port PPP deal

6 February 2026

Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group has signed an agreement with Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) to manage and operate the Aqaba multipurpose port.

AD Ports will manage and operate the port under a 30-year concession agreement.

Under the agreement, AD Ports and ADC will establish a joint venture to oversee port operations.

AD Ports will hold a 70% stake in the joint venture, with the remaining 30% held by ADC.

AD Ports Group will also invest AED141m ($38.4m) in the joint venture.

The signing ceremony was held at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority headquarters in Aqaba on 5 February.

The agreement was signed by Hussein Safadi, CEO of ADC, and Ahmed Al-Mutawa, regional CEO of AD Ports Group.

Aqaba port handles about 80% of Jordan’s exports and 65% of its imports.

It serves as a key transit point for Jordan’s neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The port has an annual handling capacity of 11 million tonnes, supported by nine berths, a quay length of 2 kilometres and a draft of 13.5 metres.

In 2025, the terminal handled over 5.3 million tonnes of cargo and nearly 85,000 car equivalent units of Ro-Ro imports.

Abu Dhabi has been deeply involved in making investments in Jordan’s infrastructure sector. In February last year, AD Ports Group signed an agreement to manage and operate the Al-Madouneh customs centre in Amman, as MEED reported.

The Al-Madouneh customs centre covers about 1.3 million square metres (sq m) and was inaugurated in June last year.

The announcement followed AD Ports Group’s signing of a shareholders’ agreement in January 2024 between its digital arm, Maqta Gateway, and Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation regarding their existing joint-venture company, Maqta Ayla.

The joint venture company will upgrade operations at the Aqaba port complex in Jordan by implementing a port community system “that leverages Maqta Gateway’s expertise, also marking the first-ever export of Abu Dhabi’s key port digitalisation solution”, AD Ports said in a statement.

AD Ports Group operates the Aqaba cruise terminal, and selected Dubai-based real estate developer Mag Group to lead the first phase of the Marsa Zayed mixed-use project.


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Yasir Iqbal
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