Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), in collaboration with the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), has announced a strategic expansion into multi-purpose terminal operations, through newly awarded concessions at four existing strategic port facilities along the Red Sea.
This step from Mawani is also part of a larger project encompassing contracts to privatise multipurpose cargo terminals at eight Saudi ports under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, which also included the partnership of Saudi Global Ports alongside private sector investments exceeding SAR 2.2 billion ($586.5 million).
Under the newly signed 20-year concession, RSGT will assume operational responsibility for the following terminals:
- Jeddah Islamic Port – General Cargo and RoRo Terminals (to be consolidated into a single multi-purpose terminal)
- King Fahd Industrial Port, Yanbu – Container operations will complement the existing Dry and liquid bulk operations
- Yanbu Commercial Port – dry bulk and General Cargo operations
- Port of Jazan – General Cargo and dry bulk operations
The contracts for King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu involve increasing container handling capacity through the deployment of the latest STS and RTG cranes, reach stackers, modern trucks and trailers, as well as reducing truck turnaround times and vessel berth stay, all contributing to improved operational efficiency.
Together, these ports contribute an additional total of 13 kilometres of quay length and 3.3 million square metres of terminal space to RSGT’s portfolio.
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Operations will be under the purview of RSGT’s new Multi-Purpose Terminals (MPT) business unit, which will manage all non-containerised cargo segments, including RoRo, general cargo, project cargo, dry and liquid bulk, and livestock.
As this pertains to Mawani’s broader project, the 20-year concession will see Saudi Global Ports developing, managing, and operating multipurpose terminals at four Eastern Province ports under Mawani’s jurisdiction: King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, Jubail Commercial Port, King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail, and Ras Al-Khair Port.
These contracts between Mawani and the private sector were signed following approval from the Supervisory Committee for Privatisation in the Transport and Logistics Sector, chaired by Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser.
Mohannad bin Ahmed Basodan, CEO of the National Centre for Privatisation, affirmed that the signing of these contracts across eight seaports aims to empower the private sector to play a key role in enhancing public services and improving operational efficiency, alongside developing advanced maritime services.