Saudi ports authority signs $1.87 bln container terminal deal

Saudi ports signed an agreement for a 7 billion riyals (US$1.87 billion) container terminal project in Dammam’s King Abdulaziz port with Saudi Global Ports in a 30-year build-operate-transfer deal.

Under the agreement with Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), Saudi Global Ports (SGP) will invest and develop key infrastructure such as berths and container handling equipment, and will more than double the existing container handling capacity of King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, Mawani said in a statement.

Upon assuming the responsibility of managing the container terminals, SGP will develop and modernise King Abdulaziz Port into a mega container hub and increase the port’s capacity to an estimated annual handling capacity of 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units when the planned expansion works are fully completed. The total estimated investment of more than 7 billion Saudi riyals, will provide more than 4,000 job opportunities in the port and logistics sector, Mawani said.

“The continuous developments in Saudi ports come in line with the national efforts to achieve goals and pillars of our country’s ambitious vision to promote sustainable economic development and raise competitiveness,” said Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and chairman of Mawani.

The new agreement follows on from another Mawani deal last December to develop container terminals at Jeddah Islamic Port with investments exceeding SR 9 billion.

“These new agreements will contribute mainly to developing berths, increasing the capacity of container terminals in King Abdulaziz Port by more than 120 per cent, and providing integrated solutions to operate container terminals,” Saad bin Alkhalb, President of Mawani said.

King Abdulaziz Port is the largest Saudi port on the Arabian Gulf coast, with an integrated trade gateway linking the Kingdom with the world. It has 43 berths, covering an area of 19 km². It has a capacity of 105 million tons and is linked with Riyadh Dry Port by railway, which helps goods from all over the world enter the Eastern and Central Regions of the Kingdom.

It includes two advanced container terminals, one refrigerated cargo terminal, two general cargo terminals, two cement plants: one for exporting black cement and clinker and one for white cement, bulk grain terminal, Iron ore handling terminal, naval vessel manufacturing area and gas and oil platform. The port contains a ship repair facility that includes two floating ship docks to accommodate ships up to 215 meters long.