WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Delaware has signed a final agreement with a private Emirati port operator to privatize the Port of Wilmington.
News outlets report Gov. John Carney and Gulftainer officials signed a document commemorating the agreement Tuesday.
Per the 50-year deal, Gulftainer’s U.S. Subsidiary will take over operations at the existing port, invest around $600 million in upgrades and building a new container-handling terminal at Edgemoor. The state will receive yearly concession payments of around $10 million.
State officials believe the takeover could double Delaware’s 5,700 port- and maritime-related jobs.
Gulftainer executive board chair Badr Jafar says the deal will establish Wilmington as “the leading food gateway on the East Coast.”
A Carney spokesman declined to provide a copy of the agreement pending legal review. It will take effect within two weeks.
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