The Saudi Port Authority has signed a licence agreement with Saudi Trade and Export Development Company (Tusdeer) to develop and operate a third container terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

The project will expand JIP capacity by 45 per cent, and help maintain Jeddah’s lead as the hub port of the region.
The new container terminal is also expected to contribute to the planned ‘Landbridge’ with the completion of the Saudi Railways project, creating a fast and efficient land-based link from the Red Sea to the Gulf.
Additionally, the project will help to boost the business activity of consignment and re-export across the kingdom, thus increasing the competitive capability of the marine transport and support system in Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed A Zainal Alireza, chairman of Tusdeer, said the new terminal is to be built on reclaimed land along the re-export zone in JIP.
It is expected to handle up to 2 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of containers annually, and will be equipped to accommodate the biggest and latest container vessels under design.
The proposed terminal will include a handling and storage area covering about 400,000 sq m.
The estimated SR1.662 billion ($443 million) scheme will take about three years to become operational, with dredging work expected to start by mid-2007.
Tusdeer has brought together a world-class team to develop the new terminal, including Seaport Terminal of Malaysia (which built and developed the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP)), the UK’s Drewry Shipping, which will conduct a market study and demand projection analysis for container traffic at JIP; Edaw/Aecom, which will develop a 30-year master plan for the terminal and Maunsell from Australia to conduct a detailed rail and road network analysis for solutions to ease traffic around the port area and effectively connect to the upcoming Saudi LandBridge project.
The project is now proceeding at full steam. All marine surveys and soil testing works have been completed, and four leading international consultants have submitted bids for the design and engineering contract. The successful bidder, will conduct the terminal’s design and detailed engineering as well as oversee the project execution.
Initial designs for the new terminal were created taking into consideration the latest, next generation technologies in the marine transport field. The terminal will have Super-Post Panamax quay cranes, berth depths of over 18 m, and an independent 16.5 m deep navigation channel.