Saif Al Mazrouei

AD Ports Group has continued to diversify and sign agreements with partners in Egypt, Bahrain, and Jordan even in difficult years to ensure success for itself and its customers.

How is AD Ports Group leveraging on the opportunities presented by the UAE’s carbon neutral goals?

AD Ports Group has a sustainability strategy that balances the environmental, commercial, and social dimensions of our development as outlined by the UN SDGs 2030. Currently, we maintain a stringent air and water quality monitoring program across our maritime facilities to ensure we meet carbon targets. We also treat the majority of our wastewater (80%) and share it with our tenants in our industrial and commercial zones for reuse in production and manufacturing. We work closely with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) on Khalifa Port’s coral relocation project, which comprises several mitigation measures aimed at lessening the environmental impact from dredging, while also reclaiming waters that separate the offshore port’s breakwater. Across our marine facilities, we have implemented a cold ironing process, an efficient pollution control measure where vessels turn off their diesel engines while in port and rely on electricity supplied from an onshore source. This has helped reduce CO2 emissions dramatically since its implementation.

AD Ports Group reported revenue growth of 14% YoY in 2021. What is the priority when it comes to reinvesting this profit and further growing the business?

Under by the guidance of our wise leadership, AD Ports Group continues to diversify and take bold steps to expand our reach around the world. The Ports cluster is already working on port projects in Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan, among others, taking our expertise to these new markets and forging new trade links. Across our operations, we will continue to encourage growth, innovation, and the highest level of customer service. We are focused on achieving sustainable growth, forging partnerships with local and global market leaders, such as ADNOC, COSCO SHIPPING Ports, CMA CGM Group, MSC Shipping, and Autoterminal Barcelona, with the goal of diversifying and expanding capacity to meet the growing and diverse needs of customers.

The company has a special status as Abu Dhabi’s exclusive developer and regulator of non-oil and gas ports. What is the strategy for accelerating this development now that the UAE is committed to the green transition?

We recognize that the transition to green energy needs to take place in alignment with our stakeholders to be a success. According to the IMO, shipping currently accounts for around 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with more than half of maritime emissions originating from ships berthed in ports. In addition to diversifying our own energy sources, ports will also need to be prepared to provide refueling facilities for the green ships of the future, an essential long-term capital investment. We have signed several key agreements to enable this transition. For example, in March, we completed an agreement on clean energy handling and transport with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and German logistics and transportation firm HHLA. The cooperation agreement will enable collaboration on developing clean hydrogen derivatives in harbor and maritime operations. Under the agreement, AD Ports, ADNOC and HHLA will jointly develop new applications for clean hydrogen as well as establish clean hydrogen supply chains between Khalifa Port in UAE and Hamburg, Germany.

What is your assessment when it comes to AD Ports Group’s competitive edge in the sector in the region?

When we look back at 2021, during a time of unprecedented change, AD Ports Group successfully leveraged its integrated ecosystem of businesses, signed agreements with major new partners and continued to diversify, with agreements to enhance port and cruise facilities in Egypt, Bahrain, and Jordan. This ability to deliver against our core strategy despite economic turbulence is an enduring strength of our business-cluster ecosystem, which multiplies opportunity and diffuses risk across the group, insulating us from isolated pressures in one or more businesses. Our ecosystem is a stable growth platform that positions the Ports Cluster at the forefront of the industry.