Maqta Gateway, ADC sign agreement to improve Aqaba’s port operations

AMMAN — Maqta Gateway, the digital arm of the AD Ports Group, has signed a shareholder agreement with the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC).

Under the agreement, signed on the sidelines of the recently UAE-hosted 20th Transport Middle East Conference, the Maqta Gateway acquired a 51 per cent stake, and the ADC will own a 49 per cent stake of Maqta Ayla, which was founded between the two countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The agreement was signed by Hussein Safadi, CEO of the Aqaba Development Corporation and Noura Al Dhaheri, CEO of Digital Custer and Maqta Gateway, in the presence of Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Nayef Fayez, and Managing Director and Group CEO Captain Mohamed Juma Shamisi. 

The joint venture company will revolutionise Aqaba’s port operations by implementing a Port Community System (PCS) that leverages Maqta Gateway’s expertise, also marking the first-ever export of Abu Dhabi’s key port digitalisation solution, AD Ports Group announced on its website.

The PCS will facilitate communications and transactions between the Ports of Aqaba, its terminal operators, ASEZA, ADC, and other stakeholders within the port’s ecosystem, streamlining services and building next-level efficiencies for the port city of Aqaba and Jordan. 

The solution is expected to be operational within twelve months, with the expectation of delivering carbon emission reductions worth 90,000 in-person visits within a year of its implementation, the group added. 

The ports of Aqaba are situated at the crossroads of three continents and handle 80 per cent of Jordan’s exports and 65 per cent of its imports. 

Aqaba’s Container Terminal is the second busiest in terms of volume along the Red Sea and the fourth biggest in the region, with an annual traffic of approximately 1.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), and serves as a key transit point for trade demands of its neighbouring countries, necessitating constant expansion and digital transformation. 

Fayez said that such agreements would increase the size of the UAE investments in the Kingdom, which currently stands at JD17 billion. 

Shamisi said that the group remains steadfast in its approach to support the economic development plans of the Kingdom. This agreement with the ADC demonstrates the group's continued efforts towards enhancing the Kingdom’s maritime sector and complements its efforts in bolstering its tourism sector, according to the AD Group website.  

Dhaheri said that "this new agreement seeks to further boost solid partnership with the ADC and fast-track joint efforts towards digitalising the port of Aqaba, making it more intelligent, resilient and cost-efficient. With the digitalisation of ports’ processes; customer and stakeholder experiences will see a huge uplift, boosting trade and driving economic prosperity”.

Safadi said that this agreement paves the way to significantly enhance communication among the ports’ various stakeholders, enabling transparency and predictability, the group added on its website.