King Abdullah Economic City, July 2021: King Abdullah Port has announced details of its exceptional performance during the first half of 2021. The port handled a total of 1,402,200 TEU between January and June, an increase of 45% compared to the same period last year. In addition, bulk and general cargo throughput grew by an impressive 78% to reach a total of 2,582,153 Mt.
Commenting on the figures, Jay New, Chief Executive Officer of King Abdullah Port, said: “We are proud of King Abdullah Port’s consistently strong performance, which highlights both our growing operational capabilities and the continuing strength of the Saudi economy. The port has played a pivotal role in the supporting Kingdom’s resurgence as we emerge from the pandemic period despite challenging global conditions. This success further inspires us on our journey to fulfil the objectives laid out in Vision 2030 and establish Saudi Arabia as a leading global logistics hub connecting three continents.”
The announcement of the latest figures continues a positive growth trend for King Abdullah Port. In 2020, the port successfully received three of the world’s largest container ships in the same week thanks to its superior infrastructure and 18-meter-deep berths. In addition, it was selected as the main logistics terminal on the Red Sea for two of the largest shipping lines, Maersk and MSC, underlining the importance of its location as a strategic link between the East and West that supports trade between continents.
Owned by the Ports Development Company, King Abdullah Port is the region’s first port to be owned, developed, and operated by the private sector. Ranked as the world’s second most efficient port by The World Bank in 2020, the port emerged as one of the world’s top 100 ports within four years of operation. With its strategic location in King Abdullah Economic City – a modern city with a pro-business ecosystem and infrastructure – King Abdullah Port leverages the city’s advanced facilities and services, particularly the Industrial Valley, which has attracted many logistics projects as well as light and medium industries.
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About King Abdullah Port
Strategically located on the Red Sea coast in King Abdullah Economic City, King Abdullah Port, ranked by The World Bank as the world’s second most efficient port in 2020, is the Middle East’s first privately owned, developed and operated port. Occupying an area of 17.4 km2, and enjoying close proximity to the key Saudi cities of Jeddah, Holy Makkah, Al Madinah and Yanbu, as well as its direct access to extensive transportation networks that facilitates the cargo transport through the kingdom and the rest of the region, the port is making an increasingly important contribution to the Kingdom’s global role in maritime trade and logistics. Once fully completed, King Abdullah Port will be capable of handling 25 million TEU, 1.5 million CEU and 25 million tons of clean bulk cargo annually.
With state-of-the-art infrastructure and processing facilities, the world’s deepest 18-m berths, multi-level expanding operations, in addition to a fully-integrated Port Community System, the Smart Gate system and multipurpose bonded and re-export zones, King Abdullah Port reflects the important role of the private sector in realizing Vision 2030.
