Mawani, the Saudi Ports Authority, has confirmed it is targeting 24,000TEU container ships at Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) and is making the necessary investments to facilitate achieving this goal.
The company has confirmed that two contracts have been signed, to deepen and construct new berths at JIP, with PC Marine Services and Modern Building Leaders (MBL), with the latter part of a consortium with HutaHegerfeld Saudi Ltd.
The project represents a US$170 million investment and will see new berths, 26 to 31, each with a 16m water depth alongside and together totalling 1100m in length constructed.
The location of JIP in the Red Sea represents no deviation from the main East-West shipping routes for vessels sailing between Asia and North Europe/ Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, so the facilities represent an optimal location for the largest ships in service making calls with no deviation.
Mawani is also expecting JIP to commence receiving larger bulk grain ships in the light of the desire of Saudi Arabia to secure and maintain higher grain reserves. This follows on from the recent volatility of grain supply caused by the Russia – Ukraine conflict.
