Yemen-UAE team up to operate Aden Container Terminal

YEMEN's cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a 50:50 joint venture company between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which would be responsible for operating and developing a container terminal at the Port of Aden.

Yemeni Transport Minister Khalid al-Wazir said in a report in The Yemen Observer that he expects "the establishment of the company's procedures" to be initiated later this month.

The comments follow the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Yemen and the International Dubai Seaport Company at the end of November in Dubai, in which it was agreed that each party would hold a 50 per cent in the planned Aden Container Terminal (ACT).

Mr Al-Wazir is also alleged to have refuted media reports that Dubai Seaport Company has threatened to pull to plug on its investment in Yemen if the government scrapped an earlier agreement concerning the operation of the Aden Container Terminal.

The report said that in 2005, Yemen's parliament suspended a deal for International Dubai Seaport Company to operate the Aden Container Terminal owing to strong opposition. The Yemen Observer said the government later recommenced negotiations with the UAE company in 2006 and agreed to award the company 50 per cent of the terminal's net profits, an improvement over the previous offer of US$6 per container handled.

The report added that the minister of transport has been ordered by the cabinet to review the draft joint venture agreement before awarding the container terminal to the new operator.