Hutchison Ports, Saudi Arabia inaugurate new box port
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Jazan Region, inaugurated the Port of Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries (JCPDI Port), in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Governor, and the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, the Minster of Investment as well as other high ranking government and private-sector officials.
His Excellency the President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Eng. Khalid Al-Salem praised the achievements made at JCPDI and revealed that a range of investments and partnerships had been inaugurated recently with many local and international partners, including the establishment of the Saudi Silk Road Company to attract Chinese industrial investments to the Kingdom, the investment and operation agreement with Hutchison Ports, as well as the agreement to establish an Alumina refinery with “Hangzhou Jinjiang” with an investment capital estimated at 4 Billion SAR.
Al-Salem added that the total existing investments at JCPDI sum to about 88 billion SAR, though the city is still under construction. He revealed that an investment agreement was signed to establish a pasta production factory, in addition to signing a memorandum of understanding between the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and the Saudi Coffee Company, besides another memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Investment and Hutchison Ports Jazan.
His Excellency pointed out that the Port is one of the most critical enablers supporting JCPDI’s industrial growth. Al-Salem clarified that the Port consists, in its first phase, of three industrial berths, an SPM that provides services to Saudi Aramco Refinery, three commercial berths for handling containers including general cargo and bulk goods, in addition to storage yards with special areas for storing and monitoring refrigerated containers.
The RCJY president also revealed that the Port has a berth with a depth of 16.5 meters, which enables receiving modern fifth generation ships with a capacity reaching more than 21,000 TEUs, and that can also handle general cargo and bulk cargo ships with a capacity of more than 100,000 tons per ship.
Furthermore, His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, stressed that Jazan region is capable of attracting investments and of achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 in the sectors of industry, tourism, and entertainment.
His Excellency Bandar Al-Khorayef also asserted that JCPDI Port is a new enabler to the logistical services in the Kingdom and the region, and is a significant contributor to the attraction of investments and creation of job opportunities, in alignment with the transport and logistics strategy.
In the same context, His Excellency demonstrated that the Port aims to contribute to developing the industrial sector in Jazan region, targeting global markets and increasing exports by capitalizing on the strategic location of Jazan, which will enhance the position and role of the Kingdom in the global supply chains.
In addition, His Excellency the Minister of Investment, Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, in his address, revealed that the Saudi economy has achieved remarkable growth in Q1 2022 by 11% and that the International Monetary Fund forecasts the Kingdom to be the fastest growing economy among the G20 in 2022. His Excellency added that the Industrial Production Index (IPI), by the end of July 2022, has achieved a growth of 21.5 %, which is another indicator of the successful implementation of Vision 2030.
His Excellency stated that the ports are the cornerstone of any industrial development and that JCPDI Port will be a key driver of the logistics services in the Kingdom and the Middle East, due to its strategic location as the port sits on a global trade corridor.
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.”
Andy Tsoi, Hutchison Ports Managing Director for Middle East and Africa indicated 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.
Charlie Darazi, Hutchison Ports Jazan Chief Executive Officer, mentioned that the Port will be equipped with the latest remote-controlled cranes, state of the art systems for both bulk and container operations which will provide enhanced visibility to its clients and will enable them to perform all transactions electronically. He also stated that Hutchison Ports Jazan will run several training programmes for local talent through its regional and global network.
It is worth mentioning that JCPDI Port will be the southern gateway connecting the Kingdom to the world and the main gateway for logistics services in alignment with the national objectives under the Saudi Vision 2030 aiming to transform the Kingdom into a leading industrial power and a global logistics hub. The Port has a total berth length of 1250m for containers, bulk and general cargo, with a design capacity of one million TEUs per year and around 4 million tons of cargo, in addition to a liquid terminal for oil tankers of Saudi Aramco.
In February 2021, the Royal commission for Jubail and Yanbu signed an Investment and Operations Agreement with Hutchison Ports to invest and operate JCPDI according to the best international practices.