Gautam Adani-led Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), which had acquired Israel’s Port of Haifa earlier this year, said it has taken measures to ensure safety of its employees in the country and all of them are safe. It stated it is “fully alert and prepared for any eventuality.”
“We are closely monitoring the action on ground, which is concentrated in south Israel, whereas Haifa port is situated in the north. We have taken measures to ensure the safety of our employees and all of them are safe. We remain fully alert and prepared with a business continuity plan that will enable us to respond effectively to any eventuality,” a company spokesperson said.
APSEZ shares closed down 4.89% at the BSE on Monday amid concerns in the conflict-ridden country.
Haifa port is a vital trade and tourism centre in the Mediterranean and handles about 99% of Israel’s maritime goods. The Port of Haifa is the second-largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.
The overall contribution of Haifa port to APSEZ’s numbers is also “relatively small” at 3% of the total cargo volume, the spokesperson added.
For FY24, the company is expecting Haifa port to handle cargo volumes in the range of 10-12 million metric tonne (MMT), while that of APSEZ for the year at 370-390 MMT.
In the initial six months (April-September 2023), APSEZ handled a total cargo volume of 203 MMT, of which the Haifa’s share was 6 MMT.
“We stay confident of APSEZ’s business performance,” the spokesperson said.
Adani operates the Haifa Port in northern Israel along with local chemicals and logistics group Gadot, after it completed the acquisition for 4 billion shekels ($1.03 billion) in January this year. The companies, APSEZ and Gadot, had won an Israel government’s tender to buy the Haifa port in July last year.
Earlier this year, Gautam Adani had also stated of making further investments in Israel, apart from developing real estate at the port to transform the Haifa skyline.