Abu Dhabi Ports and Agthia Group PJSC have signed a lease agreement aimed at expanding the Group’s existing ‘Grand Mills Flour and Animal Feed’ facilities at Zayed Port. The new agreement was signed by Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports and Iqbal Hamzah, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group at Abu Dhabi Ports headquarters.
The contract between the two parties incorporates a 25-year agreement for a 85,700m2 plot of land, which when fully developed by Agthia will include dedicated bulk grain silos, logistics warehousing and onsite bagging facilities.
The expansion in capacity will allow the Agthia Group to increase their current capacity of 930,000 tonnes per annum to 1.5 million tonnes when fully developed.
Commenting on the agreement, Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports said: “This agreement is an important addition to our list of partnerships that will contribute towards driving the investment, growth and development of the trade and maritime sectors. This expansion undertaken by Grand Mills, a subsidiary of Agthia, is an important economic boost that will support the growth and progress of the food and beverage sector, which will cater to the needs of the local consumers.”
Al Shamisi added: “Abu Dhabi Ports is very pleased to be part of this expansion of Agthia Group. Since the very beginning, our top priority has been to support our customers and the development of their business. Therefore, we are keen to work with various institutions on an ongoing basis to ensure meeting their operational needs by investing in the equipment available at Zayed Port, which will in turn be beneficial to the Abu Dhabi economy .”
Iqbal Hamzah, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group said: “Our current production capacity utilization rate at Grand Mills is at around 90% levels. When combined with our business growth projections, this necessitates an expansion in both our milling and storage capacity beyond 2017. In this regard, Agthia has already started undergoing the construction of an additional 50-thousand-ton capacity grain silos on Abu Dhabi Ports’ existing plot. This agreement will secure supplementary land essential for future expansion right adjacent to Agthia’s current facilities.
Established as Flour Mills and Animal Feed Company in 1978 by the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Grand Mills is one of the few true heritage companies of the UAE. As a subsidiary of Agthia Group since 2004, Grand Mills manufactures and supplies its Grand Mills Flour and Agrivita Animal Feed products to UAE and beyond.