KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Sudan signed Tuesday an initial $6 billion deal led by United Arab Emirates' AD Ports Group and Invictus Investment to build a vast new Red Sea port and economic zone.

"The massive project, which is estimated to cost around $6 billion, will give a strong boost to the national economy and will bring countless benefits for the whole country," Sudan's Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said during the signing ceremony.

The Abu Amama port, to be built north of the existing key hub of Port Sudan, will include an industrial zone, an international airport, and an agricultural area covering over 400,000 acres, Ibrahim said.

AD Ports Group is majority owned by ADQ, among Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth funds. Invictus Investment is headed by Osama Daoud Abdellatif, head of the Dal Group, Sudan's biggest conglomerate.

The UAE's official WAM news agency said the deal gives the consortium the "right to develop, manage, and operate port and economic zone assets" in Sudan.

Tuesday's signing came a week after Sudan's military and civilian leaders inked an initial accord aimed at ending the crisis since last year's military coup.

Sudan has been reeling from the crippling aftermath of the 2021 military power grab led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.