The total number of containers received by the Saudi Arabian ports since the beginning of 2020 has recorded a growth rate of 2.3 percent compared to the same period in 2019, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The number of container ships has amounted to 937,400 until the end of May, it revealed.
This increase underscores the strength of the Saudi economy, its supply chains and commercial movement, in light of the dire economic conditions facing the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Mawani, the efforts are part of a series of ambitious initiatives it has been working on to benefit from the Kingdom’s strategic location at an intersection between Asia, Africa and Europe.
It also aims at enhancing the competitive advantages enjoyed by the ports, raising the level of their services and their operational and logistical efficiency, expanding their capacities and facilitating and speeding up procedures.
Mawani has presented concentrated plans to enable and improve the shipment service, including the integration of infrastructures and increase in the capacity and operational efficiency of stations and advanced port handling equipment.
In addition, the plans seek adjusting storage period bills with a large competitive rate, holding strategic partnerships with major international shipping lines, stimulating frequency and coastal transport to increase the quantities of ships and re-engineer measures to deal with the shipping containers and facilitate their arrival.
In May alone, Mawani recorded an increase in the total numbers of container ships by 212,000 containers, an increase of 8.03 percent, compared to the same period in 2019.
It also achieved another increase in the total of handled cargo by 28 million tons, an increase of 6.36 percent.
According to its statistical index, the number of vessels received by Saudi ports during May amounted to 919, while the number of passengers reached 10,000. It also received 480,000 heads of cattle.
