On July 14, the Adani Group, an industrial empire owned by the Indian Gautam Adani, the richest personality in Asia and the sixth-richest person in the world, won the day in the operation to privatize the port of Haifa. In The Marker, the economic supplement of the Israeli daily Ha’Aretzjournalist Avi Bar-Eli points out that, to obtain this 70% majority stake, “the Adani Ports company paid the astronomical sum of 4.1 billion shekels [1,2 milliard d’euros]”thus sweeping away all competition.
The remaining 30% will be acquired by the Israeli company Gadot Chemical Terminals. Avi Bar-Eli also reveals that “the United Arab Emirates withdrew from the race at the last minute while, following strong pressure from the United States, the Chinese ultimately did not submit a bid”.
Adani’s company operates 13 port terminals in India and controls 24% of India’s maritime trade. The huge investment made in Israel bodes well for an increase in maritime traffic between Asia and Europe and illustrates the need for the main Asian operators to have a hub in the Mediterranean.
An economic as well as a political approach
Avi Bar-Eli believes that “the acquisition of a majority stake in an asset as strategic as a port is not only a private operation but also and above all a political maneuver. In other words, behind Gautam Adani, there is simply the Indian government of Narendra Modi.”
Adani’s arrival on the Israeli scene will attract more Indian investment, particularly in the areas of renewable energy and defense. “Especially since the Adani Group is already cooperating with the Israeli aerospace and defense company Elbit Systems in a drone manufacturing plant in India.”
These strategic reconfigurations determine the landscape of the “new Middle East”. The possible eventual normalization between Saudi Arabia and the Jewish state would make it possible to reopen the railway line linking Haifa to Mecca via Jordan, inoperative since the proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948.