Indian magnate Gautam Adani said on Tuesday he would keep investing in Israel after his group took over one of the country’s main ports, according to Reuters.

Adani spoke at a ceremony in Haifa welcoming Adani Ports and local chemicals and logistics group Gadot – the partners who purchased the port for 4 billion shekels ($1.15 billion).

“We will transform the entire port landscape,” Adani said. “Our intention is to make the right set of investments that will not just make the Adani-Gadot partnership proud, but will make the whole of Israel proud.”

Adani joins China’s Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), which opened in 2021 new piers across the bay in Haifa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the ceremony he was working to leverage the investments in Haifa to establish a trade route connecting the Mediterranean and the Gulf, bypassing the Suez Canal.

The sale of the Haifa seaport took five years.  Israel has been selling its state-owned ports and building new private docks in an effort to bring down costs and cut above-average waiting times for vessels to unload.

Source: Reuters