JERUSALEM: A consortium led by India’s Adani Group has completed the purchase of Israel’s Haifa port for four billion shekels ($1.15bn), the Jewish state’s finance ministry said on Tuesday.

The sale of one of Israel’s main seaports has taken five years and marks the culmination of a nearly two-decade reform of an underperforming sector plagued for years by labour strikes.

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. About 99 per cent of all goods move in and out of Israel by sea and port upgrades are needed to maintain economic growth.

Israel announced in July it would sell the port in Haifa, a major trade hub on the Mediterranean, to winning bidders Adani Ports and local chemicals and logistics group Gadot.

China’s Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) opened a new port across the bay in Haifa last year.

The entry of SIPG and the Adani-led group promises to boost Israel’s standing as a regional trade hub.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2023