On late Thursday, Israel’s Government Companies Authority announced that the Emirati port operator company DP World withdrew from the tender for the privatization of Israel’s Haifa port.
According to the statement issued by the Israeli privatization body, DP World conveyed its request to end its participation in the joint bid with Israel Shipyards Industries.
DP World and Israel Shipyards Industries inked a cooperation agreement for a joint bid to privatize the Haifa port, one of Israel’s two main sea terminals on its Mediterranean coast.
Following DP World’s withdrawal, Israel Shipyards Industries announced that it would proceed on its own. In a statement, the Israeli company stated it was “examining different options to continue with the process, whether alone or by joining up with other business partners.”
Meanwhile, DP World has not revealed any reason for its withdrawal but said, “Although we have decided not to participate further in the privatization of the Port of Haifa, we remain interested in investing in Israel as a key trade hub.”
The cooperation between the two countries’ companies marks the developing relations between Israel and the UAE after the two signed a normalization agreement, namely the Abraham Accords, last year.
Israel put its state-owned ports on the market to build new private docks within the scope of efforts to create competition and reduce the costs.
The announcement regarding the successful tenderer is expected to be made before the end of 2021.
