The expansion of seaports in the Eastern Province is underway to meet the expected future rise in maritime services in the region and in line with the overall national plan to ease the present congestion at the Kingdom's major ports. The three main ports in the region – the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam, King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail, and the Jubail Commercial Port – are all currently undergoing expansion, according to ports authorities. “Another container terminal is being built at Dammam Port with operational capacity to handle two million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent containers). The expansion is part of the regional ports expansion in the Eastern Province,” officials at the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam said. Facilities at the Jubail Commercial Port, which is currently handling 100,000 TEUs to be expanded to 300,000 TEUs, will be further expanded to accommodate one million TEUs by 2012. To meet this expansion, another cargo terminal will be opened at this port to meet the growth in export and import traffic, officials said. King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail is also undergoing berth expansion. Also in the Eastern Province, the construction of the Ras Al-Zour Functional Port capable of handling the export of phosphate, liquefied ammonia, caustic soda and alumina, is in full swing. According to the plan, trial operation will begin in August and the port will receive its first ship in December of this year. The Ras Al-Zour Port will be able to handle dry bulk and general cargo vessels up to a capacity of 70,000 DWT (deadweight tons), while the liquid berth will be able to handle vessels up to a capacity of 50,000 DWT. The expansion of ports services in the Eastern Province is now a priority program for the Saudi Ports Authority (SEAPA) to meet the expected hike in the production of petrochemical, chemical, mineral and industrial products in the region, according to port officials. Expansions of other ports are also being undertaken. The Jeddah Islamic Port will be expanded to handle 7.5 million TEUs per year in the coming years. Dr. Khaled Bubshait, president of SEAPA, said during the recently concluded Maritime Saudi Arabia 2010 Forum held in Jeddah, that development of the seaports and the increase of their operational capacities will be seriously pursued. This year SR1,496 million has been allocated to fund ports expansion and development, a 40 percent increase from last year's budget. SEAPA statistics show that the total cargo handled in all Saudi ports during the first quarter of 2010 reached around 33.5 million tons, with an increase of 3.43 percent over the same period of the previous year. Imports increased by 24.72 percent, while exports decreased 8.27 percent.
