DP World commits to invest more in India; inks deal with NIIF

May 05, 2017: Global marine and inland terminal operator DP World has committed a fresh investment of $1 billion in India to ride on the opportunities the country offers in the port-led and marine infrastructure development.

“We are very excited about the opportunities in India. We are not constrained for capital given the right commercial and economic dynamics. We have pledged over a billion dollar investments here,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO, DP World. Sulayem was speaking on the sideline of India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit 2017 in New Delhi.

At the summit, DP World signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to develop the logistics sector in India.

The agreement comes as a result of the visit to India of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates and Sulayem in February 2016. DP World had then announced that it was seeking opportunities in the country worth over $1 billion over the next few years. This will be aimed at development of port infrastructure of the Sagarmala project, creation of the Delhi – Mumbai Industrial Corridor, river transportation and cold chain storage, investing in port-led special economic zones, free trade zones, ICDs and cruise terminals.

The Dubai-based operator, which has already invested over a billion dollars in expansion of its facilities here, said it is looking at several investments in India in the logistic sector and online transactions of customs services.

“We have expertise in logistics. We have done it throughout the world so we are excited to join hands with government to invest in this opportunity. It will involve policy, procedure, IT hardware, warehouses,” he added.

In his address Sulayem noted that DP World has invested in the development of five international gateway ports in India.