DP World on Thursday sold its stake in the Dubai & Aden Port Development Company (DAPDC) to its partner, the Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation, the Yemeni official agency Saba reported quoting a statement by the UAE port operator.

The statement said DP World has reached an agreement with Yemeni officials under which it sold its stake in the venture, 50%, to the state-owned Gulf of Aden Ports Coroporation, according to Saba.

The deal was signed after the new Yemeni government pushed to reconsider or cancel the 2008 deal between the previous Yemeni regime and DP World to run and develop the Aden port.

Earlier this year, the Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Coroporation decided to cancel the 2008 deal because DP World could not fulfil its provisions leading to a severe deterioration of the Aden port instead of developing it. The decisions was also made after Yemeni investigations revealed frauds related t o the deal.

According to the 2008 deal, the number of containers at the Aden port should increase to at least 900.000 by 2011. But that did not happen, with Yemeni officials saying the number of the containers instead decreased from more than 500.000 a year before reachign the deal with DP World to less than 140.000 in 2011.

Mass protests were staged to urge the Yemeni government to terminate the deal affecting one of the most important national economic resources, the Aden port.

The statement affirmed the two parties had expressed their satisfaction of the new deal which aims to serve the interests of the people in Yemen and the UAE, Saba said.