Maersk’s port operating arm, APM Terminals, has struck a deal with the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) in Jordan to upgrade a container terminal in the southern Aqaba port.
The agreement covers an investment of about $242m to boost the terminal’s capacity to 1.7m teu and accelerate plans to transform it into a sustainable gateway to Jordan, the Levant and beyond.
The deal follows a memorandum of understanding in 2022 and the Jordanian government’s approval of the extension of the Dutch-based operator’s existing concession by 15 years to 2046 earlier this month.
The upgrade programme is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025 and most of the projects will be completed before 2031. Part of the development plan includes emissions reduction at the terminal with the aim of achieving net zero by 2024.
Under the deal, APM Terminals will not engage with competing ports in the region. The partnership between ADC and APM Terminals began in 2006 and, over time, has resulted in the expansion of the quay from 500 m to 1,000 m, as well as an increase in yearly capacity from 600,000 teu to 1.3m teu.