The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been rated 16th in annual container throughput by the 2023 edition of the Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports, up from 24th last year.
HE Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and Chairman of the Saudi Posts Authority (MAWANI), stated: “The Kingdom’s remarkable leap is a direct result of the continuous support and empowerment from HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in the pursuit of fulfilling the ambitions of Vision 2030.”
This vision aims to transform the nation into a logistics leader on the global front and an engine for socioeconomic growth through capacity upgrades of up to 40 million TEU.
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As per the industry report, container volumes across the Kingdom’s ports during 2022 were estimated at 10.43 million TEU in a clear signal of its growing role as an enabler of international trade and driver of progress and prosperity.
The Kingdom’s advances in the global logistics landscape can be attributed to a number of critical catalysts.
This includes the addition of nine cargo services, the signing of agreements worth over 4 billion riyals ($1 billion) with major partners to build six state-of-the-art logistics parks by 2022, and the awarding of concessions worth 17 billion riyals ($4.5 billion) to operate and optimise container terminals.
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The latest success builds on Saudi Arabia’s successful track record this year across key global indices, including the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), where it jumped 17 places to 38th place among 160 countries.
This month, MAWANI recorded a 6.79 per cent year-on-year uptick in TEU throughput across its trade hubs during the month of June.
