JEDDAH – Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) recorded 5.15 percent growth in imports and exports in 2012, the Saudi Port Authority said recently. The number of passengers handled by the Red Sea port was up 4.57 percent in the same period. JIP director general Sahir Mousa Tahlawi said the port received 419,200 containers with 980,000 tons of food items in July, adding that building materials handled by the port increased by 27 percent to 1.1 million tons. It also received 57,800 cars and 411,000 head of livestock. Tahlawi said exports and imports rose to 3.6 million tons during the first six months of this year, adding that the number of containers rose by 21.21 percent to 2.7 million. “The port authority wants to exploit JIP's maximum capacity to speed up work at the port,” he said. “The port will work round the clock every day, including Thursday, Friday and official holidays,” he added. JIP is strategically located in the middle of the international shipping route between the east and west. It covers 10.5 square kilometers, with 58 deep-water quays having an overall length of 11.2 kilometers with a draft reaching 16 meters. It can accommodate the latest generation of large container vessels. – SG
