Jerusalem, 10 January, 2023 (TPS) — A consortium led by Adani, an India-based international conglomerate, completed the $1.15 billion purchase of Haifa Port, Israel’s Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The consortium includes the Gadot Group, an Israeli chemical and logistics company based in Netanya.

The purchase is not related to the separate Chinese-operated Haifa Bayport Terminal across the bay, which has been a source of US concern.

Adani, owned by billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, has holdings in port management, electric power generation and transmission, renewable energy, mining, airport operations, natural gas, food processing and infrastructure. It currently operates 15 ports and terminals, mostly in India.

In August, Bloomberg News estimated Adani’s personal wealth at $137 billion. Bloomberg ranked Adani as the world’s third wealthiest person, behind Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos and business magnate and investor Elon Musk.

Israel moved to privatize Haifa’s ports to boost the city’s profile as a hub for international shipping, bring down costs and upgrade the facilities.