AD Ports Group recently launched an economic impact report detailing the group’s growing role as a driver of economic diversification in the UAE and its role as a leading facilitator of global trade, logistics, and industry in the Arabian Gulf. The results of the study conducted by Oxford Economics aim to reflect the group’s growing economic and social contribution as a leading enabler of growth in the non-oil economy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
In Abu Dhabi, the group’s diverse activities across multiple sectors, including industry, trade and logistics, generated 22.9 percent of the emirate’s non-oil GDP in 2022 at current prices. This represents a total value-added contribution of AED132.7 billion. On a national scale, AD Ports Group generated 11.6 percent of the UAE’s non-oil GDP, or AED150.6 billion at current prices in the same year.
Economic cities, free zones propel diversification efforts
AD Ports Group operates a growing, international ecosystem of ports, economic cities and free zones, as well as 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 economic growth through its industrial development, transport and logistics activities.
In 2022, AD Ports Group’s contributions to UAE and Abu Dhabi non-oil GDP were driven by its economic cities and free zones cluster (EC&FZ), which accounted for 95 percent of its total impact.
Group supports 398,400 UAE jobs
AD Ports Group’s 2022 activity supported around 398,400 jobs across the UAE, which made up 14.1 percent of total employment within the non-oil sector. Moreover, it supported about 8 percent of employment in the UAE’s construction and manufacturing sectors.
At the same year, AD Ports Group also supported a total of 261,700 jobs across Abu Dhabi, including 32.1 percent of employment within the emirate’s manufacturing sector.
“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,” stated Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, managing director and group CEO, AD Ports Group.
KEZAD Group leads non-oil GDP growth
KEZAD Group, which includes over 2,000 business tenants, led the EC&FZ cluster’s contributions to non-oil GDP growth. In addition to leading in manufacturing, AD Ports Group’s EC&FZ cluster also drove activity across other sectors including construction, professional services, transportation and storage, administration and support, mining and quarrying, finance, information and communications technology, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate.
AD Ports Group’s global expansion during the last two years has contributed significantly to its own growth and the economic diversification of the UAE and Abu Dhabi.
“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 the wider world, and, increasingly, the world’s best to Abu Dhabi’s door. As the group grows bigger and more diverse, so too do the economies of Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” stated Ross Thompson, group chief strategy and growth officer, AD Ports Group.
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