King Abdullah Port has concluded its readiness to receive the heavy container traffic that precedes the holy month of Ramadan every year. This time of year constitutes a vital season for trade activities in the Kingdom, including various market sectors, particularly food, clothing, electronics and others.
During the period preceding the holy month, commercial traffic in Saudi Arabia will benefit from King Abdullah Port massive capacity, which currently stands at 3 million standard containers annually. This will contribute to preventing the accumulation of containers and ensuring the smooth flow of goods to the Saudi Arabian markets.
In May 2015, King Abdullah Port announced the opening of the fourth berth as planned. The opening had a great impact on increasing the capacity of the container station, as those berths are 18 meters deep and have an overall height of 1,470 meters. King Abdullah Port also have storage spaces reaching approximately 1,600 meters in length and 450 to 550 meters in width, allowing the storage of 94,338 dry standard containers at once. As for the refrigerated containers station, it has a storage capacity of 5,250 standard refrigerated containers at once and is subject to the highest control standards to ensure high storage quality.
Engineer Abdullah bin Muhammad Hameedaddin, Managing Director of the Ports Development Company, owners, developers and managers of King Abdullah Port, said “King Abdullah Port owns a modern and advanced transportation network designed to accomplish all loading and transportation of goods quickly and efficiently. Its proximity to the Kingdom’s highways smoothly facilitates the transportation of goods, which saves time and effort. As a major and coaxial port on the Red Sea, King Abdullah Port is characterized by being close to several major cities, including Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Rabigh and Yanbu. Those characteristics, in addition to the superior equipment and long berths, will contribute to activating the Port’s role in promoting Saudi economy and driving growth through vitalizing trade.”
Hameedaddin expressed his thanks and appreciation to all government entities operating at the port, including ministries, security bodies and agencies, for their great efforts, which contributed to the success of King Abdullah Port and its high commissioning standards. He pointed out that the cooperation between the private and public sectors represents a cornerstone in the success of the efforts aiming at the diversification and enablement of national economy.
In 2015, the Port’s second year in service, the Port announced its remarkable success of handling 1.3 million standard containers by commissioning three berths at the beginning of the year. It also commissioned four berths from May until the end of the year. It is expected that these berths will have a substantial role in achieving excellent numbers throughout the coming years. The first phase of bulk cargo and ro-ro (car) stations is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2016.
King Abdullah Port is planning to complete the construction of two berths by the end of 2016, reaching a total of six berths and a capacity of over 4 million standard containers. During 2016, the Port seeks to open the first rolling berth through commissioning it through a joint management with the leading company NYK. The pier’s capacity will reach 300 thousand cars annually, in addition to opening the first clean bulk cargo pier for the Port to accommodate more than 3 million tons of bulk cargo on each pier.
The Port Development Company strives to strengthen the role of King Abdullah Port in supporting the journey of development and growth witnessed in the Kingdom. It also strives to integrate the Port’s role with the Saudi ports system, in order to work collectively to meet the growing demand of import and export, as well as providing the necessary means to build major vital projects in Saudi Arabia.
Source: Saudi Gazzette