Oct 17 | 2022
Upgrades Will Help Attract New Global Shipping Lines
The Saudi Ports Authority has inked two contracts with major contractors worth about US$171 million to deepen and build new berths at Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea Coast.
A first deal was signed with Jeddah-based PC Marine Services to build two 16-metre-deep, 1,100-metre-long berths at JIP’s multi-cargo terminals to accommodate large bulk grain carriers, the port authority, known as Mawani, said.
The agreement would secure the kingdom’s strategic grain reserves through higher imports and boost overall food security, it added.
A second contract with local contractors Modern Building Leaders and Huta Hegerfeld Saudia will deepen harbor approach channels, turning basins, waterways and the South Terminal basin. The upgrades will enable 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEU, vessels to dock at the port, enhancing the port’s ability to lure new global shipping lines.
Mawani said the deals were part of a wider initiative to transform port operations through the implementation of more than 160 projects. “Saudi ports are a vital engine of economic growth and play a central role in developing regional and global trade,” Mawani said.
The 12.5-km-square JIP boasts two container terminals, two general cargo terminals, 62 berths and a logistics park for bonded storage and re-export. The port receives annually about 5,000 vessels of all types, last year handling nearly 5 million TEUs.
Breakbulk Middle East, the region's largest gathering of project cargo professionals, is taking place on 13-14 February 2023 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, UAE.
