SAUDI ARABIA — Saudi Arabia’s food security situation is set to get a major boost following the expansion of the Jeddah Islamic Ports, World Grain has reported.
The US$171 million project will see new berths built at Jeddah Islamic Port while existing ones deepened as the port authority (Mawani) strives to develop the seaport and Saudi Arabia as a major global maritime logistics hub.
The contract will deepen harbor approach channels, turning basins, waterways and the South Terminal basin will enable the arrival of vessels that hold a capacity up to 24,000, 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).
Modern Building Leaders (MBL), in association with Huta Hegerfeld Saudia Ltd will carry out the above named expansion works.
PC Marine Services will on the other hand oversee the construction of new berths (#26 to #31) measuring 16 meters deep and 1,100 meters long at the multi-cargo terminals to receive large bulk grain carriers and accommodate larger vessels.
With four terminals and 62 berths, the Jeddah Islamic Port receives around 5,000 vessels of all kinds every year and was ranked eighth in the 2021 World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index.
The facility, managed and operated by AJWA Port Services, also has bulk grain terminal, grain, flour and rice mills and has handled more than 35 million tonnes of grain for the past 11 years.
With the current expansions, the port will handle accommodate larger vessels to cover the local market demand, secure the countries strategic grain reserves through higher imports, and boost overall food security through Jeddah Islamic Port.
The facility, managed and operated by AJWA Port Services, also has bulk grain terminal, grain, flour and rice mills and has handled more than 35 million tonnes of grain for the past 11 years.
Meanwhile, local production of wheat is expected to rise as Saudi Arabia intensifies efforts to encourage farmers to plant more of the crop to protect the country from volatilities associated with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The country increased the maximum local wheat production cap to 1.5 MMT per year until MY2022/2023 but USDA staff are skeptical of the country achieving that goal in the short term.
This means Saudi Arabia will continue to rely heavily on external markets for its food and feed grains, necessitating the expansion of ports such as Jeddah, which handle the bulk of the imports.
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