Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group will develop a digital Single Logistics Trade Window solution for Angola after signing an agreement with Agência Reguladora de Certificação de Carga e Logística de Angola (ARCCLA), the country’s trade regulator.
The global transport and logistics solutions company also signed an agreement to purchase 30 new trucks and 45 new trailers for approximately US$6 million for Noatum Unicargas Logistics, its Angolan logistics business.
The Group has also signed five preliminary agreements with Angolan public and private sector partners to explore wider cooperation in maritime services, cabotage, training, logistics, airport cargo handling services, and healthcare.
AD Ports expands logistics footprint in Angola
The new agreements come six months after AD Ports Group already committed to invest US$250 million in the country through 2026 to redevelop and expand Noatum Ports Luanda Terminal, the multipurpose terminal facility at the country’s largest port.
The Single Logistics Trade Window agreement and the truck fleet purchase deepen the Group’s presence in Angola – centred around the Port of Luanda, which handles approximately 76 per cent of Angola’s container and general cargo volumes, as well as providing maritime access to landlocked neighbours Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.
Noatum Ports Luanda Terminal at the Port of Luanda is a main staging point for Noatum Unicargas Logistics, the Group’s 90 per cent owned joint venture with local partner Unicargas.
The decision to purchase new trucks and trailers nearly doubles the Noatum Unicargas’s truck fleet, expanding the operation to 70 trucks and 95 trailers.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, commented: “The signings today underscore our commitment to developing Luanda and Angola into a main trade hub for West Africa.
“With the purchase of a new truck fleet for Noatum Unicargas Logistics, and our development of a Digital Single Logistics Trade Window for Angola, as well as these strategic MoUs today, we are pursuing transformational projects that will bring lasting economic growth and prosperity to the country.”
Maqta Technologies, the digital arm of AD Ports Group, will develop the digital single logistics trade window solution for ARCCLA called JUL. It will become the backbone of Angola’s digital trade ecosystem, simplifying trade and customs-related processes in the country.
In the first of three phases during the three-year agreement, JUL will streamline trade by sea, and enhance operational efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions.
By harmonising trade via sea, air, and land, JUL will integrate and simplify existing platforms such as the National Network of Logistic Platforms (RNPL), Single Port Window (JUP), Single Window for Foreign Trade (JUCE) with customs management system.
The preliminary agreements signed with additional Angolan partners cover a range of areas – like exploring potential cooperation in institutionalising the national maritime academy in Angola, ferry and cabotage services, operations of marine terminals, logistics platforms, as well as the Caio Deepwater Terminal in Cabinda, and the Dande Free Zone Multipurpose Terminal.
An MoU with the Agencia Maritima Nacional, the national maritime authority, will focus on the creation of a national maritime academy. The MoU with Secil Maritima SA, an Angolan maritime company, will consider collaborations in maritime and cabotage cargo services.
The Group will evaluate opportunities to enhance logistics services, ground handling, cargo handling and warehousing at the airport in Catumbela following the agreements signed with Sociedade Gestora de Aeroportos SA (SGA).
DOCKTOUR, AD Ports Group’s joint maritime-medical venture with Burjeel Holding, will also explore opportunities with the Angola Ministry of Health to provide logistics and supply chain services for transport of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare supplies.
