AD Ports Group’s activities in the UAE across various sectors, including industry, trade, and logistics contributed 22.9 per cent to Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy, with a total AED 132.7 billion in 2022 at current prices, according to Oxford Economics

By Ron Chen, Bureau Chief, Asia

The leading facilitator of global trade, logistics, and industry in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea, AD Ports Group unveiled a new economic impact report that underscored the Group’s growing role as a driver of economic diversification in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

The results of the study conducted by Oxford Economics, which was based on 2022 data, illustrated in fresh detail the Group’s growing economic and social contributions as a leading corporate architect and enabler of a non-oil-based economy in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

In Abu Dhabi, AD Ports Group’s diverse activities across multiple sectors, including industry, trade, logistics, and more, were pivotal in generating 22.9 per cent of the Emirate’s non-oil GDP in 2022 at current prices, representing a total value-added contribution of AED 132.7 billion. On a national scale, AD Ports Group helped generate 11.6per cent of UAE non-oil GDP, or AED 150.6 billion at current prices in the same year.

According to Oxford Economics, AD Ports Group played a significant role in driving growth of the non-oil-based economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, with its participation in non-oil GDP in Abu Dhabi Emirate rising in 2022 from 21 per cent in 2020, when figures were last released.

As a strategic gateway to Abu Dhabi, the economic engine of the UAE and one of the fastest-growing economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), AD Ports Group operates a growing, international ecosystem of Ports, Economic Cities & Free Zones, Maritime & Shipping, Logistics and Digital services.

Active in more than 50 countries across the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Central and Southeast Asia, and Europe, the Group is a catalyst for non-oil based economic growth through its industrial development, transport and logistics activities.

The estimates by Oxford Economics were based on measurements of the Group’s operations, capital spending, tourism associated with operations, and activity in its industrial zones. During 2022, the Group’s contribution to UAE and Abu Dhabi non-oil GDP was driven by its Economic Cities and Free Zones Cluster (EC&FZ), which accounted for 95 per cent of its total impact.

The Group’s 2022 activity supported an estimated 398,400 jobs across the UAE directly and indirectly, which made up 14.1 per cent of total employment within the nation’s non-oil sector, along with supporting about 8 per cent of employment in the UAE’s construction and manufacturing sectors, respectively. In the same year, the Group supported a total of 261,700 jobs across Abu Dhabi directly and indirectly, including 32.1 per cent of employment within the UAE capital’s manufacturing sector.

Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, said: “The latest findings confirm the Group’s growing economic impact and continued ability to lay the foundations for a sustainable, diversified economy for Abu Dhabi, the UAE and future generations. Guided by our wise leadership, the Group is working diligently to open new economic horizons that offer next-generation economic infrastructure and job opportunities.’’

Group Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, AD Ports Group, Ross Thompson said: “Through an expanding global footprint and market-leading positions in industrial development, transport, trade and logistics, AD Ports Group is bringing the best of Abu Dhabi and the UAE to a wider world, and, increasingly, the world’s best to Abu Dhabi’s door. As the Group grows bigger and more diverse, so too are the economies of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.’’

Contributions to non-oil GDP growth generated by the Group’s EC&FZ Cluster were led primarily by the more than 2,000 business tenants of KEZAD Group, a major part of EC&FZ and the largest economic zones ecosystem in MENA. Along with leading in manufacturing, the EC&FZ Cluster also drove activity across other sectors including construction, professional services, transportation and storage, admin and support, mining and quarrying, finance, information and communications technology, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate.

AD Ports Group’s global expansion of the last two years has contributed greatly to the Group’s own growth as well as the economic diversification of the UAE and Abu Dhabi economies.