DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, and the Cypriot logistics and services company GAP Vassilopoulos Public have won two concessions to manage commercial activities at Limassol Port in Cyprus starting in January.
DP World was awarded a 25-year concession to manage activities that include break-bulk, general cargo, ro-ro and the operation of the passenger terminal, the port operator said in a statement.
P&O Maritime Cyprus, a unit of DP World, won a 15-year concession to exclusively provide port marine services at Limassol.
DP World will own 75 per cent of each joint venture, with its Cypriot partner owning the rest.
The port operator’s net profit rose by 30.7 per cent last year, beating analyst expectations, thanks to its acquisition of a free zone in Dubai in 2014 and growth in volumes.
The port operator plans to spend between US$1.2 billion and $1.4bn this year to expand its terminals in Jebel Ali in Dubai, the Economic Zones World (EZW) free zone in Jebel Ali, London Gateway in the UK and Prince Rupert on Canada’s west coast.
The group spent $1.4bn on capital expenditure last year, in addition to $4bn on acquisitions, which included inland terminals in Mannheim and Stuttgart, as well as the Fairview Container Terminal in Prince Rupert.
DP World expects to have about 86 million units of gross global capacity by the end of this year, up from 79.6 million units at the end of last year.
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
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