Marking a major increase in capacity, the new Red Sea Container Terminal was opened here Saturday at the Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) by Dr. Jabarah Al-Suraisiry, Minister of Transport. Abdul Aziz Bin Muhammad Al-Twaijiri, President of the Seaport Authority, noted that Saudi harbors have seen remarkable development over the past few years. He said the capacity of Saudi seaports jumped from 373 million tons in 2010 to 413 million tons in 2011. In addition a total of 10,985 vessels docked at Saudi seaports in 2010 compared to 11,269 vessels in 2011. The quantity of consignments handled at Saudi seaports increased from 144 million tons in 2010 to 165 million tons in 2011. There was also an increase in the number of containers received by the seaports which jumped from 5.3 million containers in 2010 to 5.7 million in 2011. Al-Twaijiri said there was a significant increase in revenue, from SR2.97 billion in 2010 to SR3.3 billion in 2011. There was also a significant increase in seaport traffic in the first quarter of 2012 and there are indications of further high levels of performance. He said Jeddah Islamic Port was one of the most developed and most modern seaports in the country. Al-Suraisiry, in his speech, also highlighted the major developments at the country's harbors. He said this has opened the door for the private sector to contribute to the financing, operation and management of the seaports. He said the terminal will increase capacity and create jobs for Saudis. Muhammad Zainal, Chairman of the Red Sea Container Terminal, thanked the Kingdom's leadership for supporting all the seaport's projects. He said the project has increased the storage capacity at the port.
