Hutchison Ports celebrated the inauguration of Jazan in Saudi Arabia with a visit from the royal commission.
In its first phase the port consists of three industrial
berths, a Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility for the Saudi Aramco refinery,
and three commercial berths for containers, general cargo and bulk goods.
The President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu,
HE Eng. Khalid Al-Salem that the Port is one of the most critical enablers
supporting industrial growth at The Port of Jazan City for Primary and
Downstream Industries (JCPDI Port).
Eric Ip, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Ports, said,
“We have been in Saudi Arabia for 22 years, and it is a very important market
for Hutchison Ports. Today’s ceremony marks a new chapter for us in the Kingdom
and we look forward to working closely with the Royal Commission to make
Hutchison Ports Jazan a success and help JCPDI reach its full potential and
contribute to the Saudi Vision 2030.”
The port will use remote-controlled cranes and state of
the art systems for handling containers and bulk goods to enable
electronic transitions. Training programs will be run for local talent, said Hutchison
Ports Jazan CEO, Charlie Darazi.
A berth depth of 16.5m will allow containerships of
over 21,000 teu to call the port, and bulk ships with capacities over
100,000 tons.
The Port has a total berth length of 1,250 meters for
containers, bulk and general cargo, with a design capacity of one million teu
per year and around four million tons of cargo, in addition to a liquid
terminal for oil tankers of Saudi Aramco.
Andy Tsoi, Hutchison Ports Managing Director for Middle East
and Africa said that JCPDI Port represents an exciting new chapter. He added
that from a strategic standpoint, JCPDI sits at the crossroads of the busy
east-west trade lane and the rapidly growing north-south trade. JCPDI also has
the potential to be the Kingdom’s first port of call from East Asia. Therefore,
given the talented local human capital and the continuing support of
development policies, the port is very well-positioned for the future of the
Kingdom’s maritime industry.
Minister of Investment, HE Eng. Khalid Al-Falih said that
Saudi economy was booming, with 11% growth in Q1 2022 and growth of 21.5% in
its Industrial Production Index (IPI).
