The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) yesterday launched a project worth SR7 billion ($1.9 billion) to upgrade and develop two container terminals at the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam.
The project has been awarded to the Saudi Global Ports on a build-operate-transfer basis.
Mawani President Omar Hariri, SGP Chairman Abdullah Al-Zamil, and several senior officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
The concession will work on refurbishing berths and facilities across the port’s first container terminal, expand berths and overhaul the container yard within the second container terminal to enable the Arabian Gulf hub to handle giant containerships.
The development works will also add a custom-built sandbox to test cutting-edge technologies and conceptualize new processes before going online.
Apart from generating over 4,000 jobs, the project will raise the port’s overall capacity by 120 percent to 7.5 million TEUs.