Logistics hub bid

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) is moving up the rankings in terms of the volumes it handles annually and it has a plan to transform its ports into prosperous and sustainable ‘investment magnets’.

“The Kingdom has established a clear roadmap to transform the maritime sector and raise its ports to world-class levels,” said H.E. Omar Hariri, President of the Saudi Ports Authority.

“We intend to invest more in our port infrastructure for seamless integration with other modes of transport across the country. We further aim to achieve an annual capacity that exceeds 40 million teu through greater ties with international shipping routes.”

Sustainable growth

His Excellency said that the port authority’s growth was largely due to the effective collaboration between government agencies to integrate the national transport system.

The figures speak for themselves, 2021 was a landmark year for MAWANI. The Kingdom ranked 16th in the 2021 edition of Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports in terms of volume handled.

Saudi Arabia was also declared the world’s fifth-fastest country in container ship handling by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) annual index report for 2020, thus marking the country’s first-ever entry in the world’s top ten seaports list. 

In its bid to bolster the Kingdom’s competitive edge, it inked a deal with Maersk to invest SAR500 million for setting up a fully integrated logistics zone at Jeddah Islamic Port, which is set to be the largest in the Middle East.

Work also commenced on the development of Phase 1 of the SAR3 billion South Container Terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port by DP World.

In keeping with its strategic objective of maximising and fully leveraging the increased capacity of Saudi ports, MAWANI executed 32 infrastructure projects that involved the construction of new berths, renovation and expansion of existing berths and dredging of turning basins. The Authority also opened up investment opportunities to develop and operate multi-purpose terminals at eight Saudi ports.

In its mission to bolster port efficiency, MAWANI developed seven new online systems, granted 16 operations licenses to national and foreign shipping agents and brought online a new trucking appointment booking system.