Agility to expand warehousing capacity in Kuwait

16 April 2017

 The firm plans to add close to 1 million square meter of new space

Kuwait-based Agility Public Warehousing Company, one of the largest transportation and logistics firm in the region, is investing KD70m ($229.6m) in adding new warehousing space in Kuwait.

Agility will develop 900,000 square metres of new warehousing space on the existing land under management, Tarek Abdul Aziz Sultan al-Essa, vice chairman and chief executive of Agility said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market (DFM) where is shares are cross listed.

The development will be carried out over the next three years, and Agility said the decision to expand warehousing capacity is based on customers’ demand. The new investments are expected to yield a return of about 15 per cent.

“The value of the investment will be reflected on the company’s financial results over the period of development,” Al-Essa said in the statement, without specifying how the company will finance the new development.

The firm operates through two business lines of global logistics services and infrastructure portfolio of companies, focused on emerging markets to facilitate trade. El-Essa in November told MEED that the company is not change its strategy of focusing on emerging markets and it is investing in new technologies to improve efficiency and “keep shareholders happy”.

The firm is embroiled in legal dispute with the government of Iraq and currently awaits the decision of arbitration it had filed over the company’s $380m investment in Iraq’s Korek Telecom.

Agility had filed the dispute on 9 February with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, on the ground of failure of the Iraqi government to provide an official notice in respect to development relating to their investment in the telecommunications firm.

Agility claims that non-compliance of the Iraqi government resulted in the expropriation of its investment.

Agility and France Telecom, which has since rebranded to Orange, planned to acquire 44 per cent of Korek Telecom in 2011. Agility was to control the stake by contributing convertible debt and an additional $50m of its indirect stake in Korek Telecom.

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