AD Ports Group, an Abu Dhabi-based ports and logistics giant, has secured a 20-year concession agreement for the Port of Luanda, Angola’s largest and one of the main transport hubs for Central-West Africa, according to reports.
The deal will see AD Ports invest US$251 million over the next three years to upgrade the terminal to a container and roll on/roll off (RoRo) terminal and develop the logistics business. The redevelopment, scheduled for competition in the third quarter of 2026, will surge container-handling volumes from 25,000 to 350,000 teu (a unit equivalent to a 20-foot container) and RoRo volumes to over 40,000 vehicles. Up to US$379 million may be invested over the term of the concession, which is extendable for 10 years.
The Emirati group signed deals with Angolan logistics and transport companies Unicargas and Multiparques. One gives the group an 81 percent stake in the joint venture operating the terminal, the other a 90 percent stake in a separate joint venture that will service the facility as well as the broader Angolan logistics market.
[See more: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Luanda]
Luanda currently handles more than 76 percent of the country’s container volume and, with projected annual growth of 3.3 percent over the next decade, a more robust port is a must. To meet this need, AD Ports Group will be enlarging the concession area by 14,000 square metres; upgrading the quay wall; purchasing additional ship-to-shore cranes, gantry cranes and other equipment, expanding the draft by 6.5 metres; and modernising IT systems.
The logistics joint venture with Unicargas, operated by AD Ports subsidiary Noatum Logistics, will provide integrated logistics and freight-forwarding services for local, regional and international clients. The venture will manage the movement of containers to Multiparques’ Viana inland container depot and offer transport within Angola as well as to neighbouring countries, particularly land-locked Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
AD Ports Group, which is majority owned by the Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ, is also exploring opportunities to support other maritime sectors in Angola, including by deploying work accommodation vessels, passenger ferries, platform supply vessels and other assets.
