Middelfart Municipality buys Middelfart Traffic Port from ADP A/S

At the city council meeting on September 2, 2019, Middelfart City Council approved the purchase of Middelfart Traffic Port from ADP A/S, and the municipality thus takes over the port's areas and facilities. The takeover of Middelfart Traffic Port will officially take place on October 10, 2019.

Since 2002, Middelfart Traffic Port has been part of the municipally owned port company ADP A/S, which in addition to the port in Middelfart also owns and operates the commercial ports in Nyborg and Fredericia. But as of October 10, 2019, Middelfart Municipality takes over the port, which includes 53,721 square meters of quayside areas and 11,600 square meters of storage facilities.

The purchase of the port was approved by a unanimous city council at its meeting on September 2, while ADP's board of directors approved the sale at a board meeting on August 20.

"This is a big deal for Middelfart Municipality. The harbor is a strategically important area located in the heart of Middelfart city center. The ownership is both important and crucial in relation to our future opportunities to develop the city - to ensure a good cohesion between our waterfront with the beautiful, newly renovated square in front of the Culture Island, the marina, the future new homes on the neighboring plot and the municipal port area. The investment is large - and therefore the timing is important. Right now, we have the opportunity to secure a historically low interest rate on the loan we are taking out for the purchase. So the opportunity to buy the harbor has come at just the right time, when the interest costs in practice will not affect our operations," explains Johannes Lundsfryd Jensen

The acquisition means that the municipality will now enter into the existing lease contracts and continue the port activities - and an operating agreement will be made with ADP.

"The continuation of the port activities is a prerequisite for the municipality's ability to obtain loans for the investment. We have lease contracts that run until the end of 2023, which means that Middelfart Municipality will operate a municipal port for a number of years. When we look further into the future, we can work on changing the purpose of the port so that parts of the area can gradually be included in our urban development plans," says Johannes Lundsfryd Jensen.

A changed ownership structure is to everyone's advantage
Activities on the port areas in Middelfart have been concentrated on the storage of bulk goods and general cargo in the port's warehouses and warehouses. Middelfart Municipality's operating agreement with ADP will, among other things, include the handling of ship calls. Therefore, local jobs will be preserved, and the companies from the Port of Fredericia that have activities in Middelfart can use the port as they have done so far.

In the process of changing the ownership strategy for Middelfart Traffic Port, ADP's management and board have analyzed the future business plan and strategy for the operation and development of the activities at the port of Middelfart.

"When we look into the future market, we see that water depth and access to an efficient infrastructure means more and more to our customers. We will now concentrate on further developing the ports in Nyborg and Fredericia" says Rune D. Rasmussen, CEO of ADP A/S.

Erik Østergaard, Chairman of the Board of ADP A/S, said of the sale:

"The establishment of ADP A/S and the merger of the three municipal ports into a commercial company in 2000 and 2002 was a very visionary project. The three ports have been very different in both size and level of activity, and ADP's management and board have throughout the years balanced the development of the three ports in close cooperation with the owner municipalities. It is precisely for this reason that a unanimous board has approved the sale of the port".

In recent years, ADP has made a significant impact on the Danish port sector - most recently with the development of the Port of Fredericia and Taulov Dry Port as a leading logistics center.

"The ports of Fredericia and Nyborg continue to be of great commercial importance and create both growth and jobs in the two municipalities. With the company's established strategy, ADP will continue its development in the years to come in close cooperation between the cities and the ports," concludes Erik Østergaard.

Further information

Johannes Lundsfryd Jensen
Mayor of Middelfart
Mobile: 2528 4142
E-mail: johannes.lundsfrydjesen@middelfart.dk

Thorbjørn Sørensen
Acting Director General of Middelfart Municipality
Mobile: 2120 4801
E-mail: Thorbjorn.sorensen@middelfart.dk

Erik Østergaard
Chairman of the Board of ADP A/S
Mobile: 4015 1225
E-mail: eoe@dtl.eu

Rune D. Rasmussen
CEO of ADP A/S
Mobile: 2969 2011
E-mail: rdr@adp-as.dk