AD Ports Group is taking a majority stake in a 30-year concession to develop a new dry bulk terminal at Cameroon’s Douala Port, according to a press release (pdf). The port giant will plan, construct, and operate the terminal, with construction slated to start this year and be completed in 2028. AD Ports is working with the Port Authority of Douala on the project, which marks a major expansion of its footprint in Cameroon.

Douala? Handling about 80% of the country’s bulk cargo and 85% of national trade volumes, Douala is Cameroon’s largest maritime gateway. It acts as a transit point for landlocked markets in Central Africa.

The ownership structure: The ADX-listed operator, along with two other unspecified UAE investors, will have a 60% stake in the eventual firm operating the port. Africa Ports Development, which previously inked a concession agreement for construction of a terminal at Douala, will take the remaining 40% stake. The structure gives AD Ports 51% effective interest, the statement said.

AD Ports expects to commit around AED 320 mn for the first phase. The initial build-out will include two berths and about 450 meters of quay wall, designed to handle roughly 4 mn tonnes of cargo a year including clinker, gypsum, fertilizer, and grain.

Why it matters

The move builds on the firm’s expansion in Africa — adding to its existing logistics portfolio in Egypt, Angola, Tanzania, and the Republic of Congo. Just this month, it agreed to explore developing and operating a multipurpose terminal at Matadi Port — the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) primary Atlantic gateway — as it looks to deepen its footprint in the continent.

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