Chinese firms win $443mn Saudi Port deal

Two Chinese companies have won contracts to construct the massive third terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP), Saudi Arabia’s oldest and largest port.

Saudi Trade and Export Development Company (Tusdeer) signed a deal on Monday with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to build the ‘Red Sea Gate’ terminal over 22 months, beginning in January 2008.

The new terminal will be built based on designs made by the British engineering consultancy Halcrow and is scheduled to begin operating fully in the fourth quarter of 2009. Designed to handle 1.5 million containers annually, it will increase the port’s overall capacity by 45%.

Cranes manufacturer Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery (ZPMC) will supply the terminal with eight container cranes, 26 ship loaders and un-loaders and large steel bridge structures. It will supply equipment in three stages starting mid-2009.

Tusdeer, a subsidiary of Saudi Industrial Services, is building the terminal with Seaport Terminal of Malaysia, which has a 20% stake in the project.

The $443 million project will be implemented on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis and will take three years to complete.

The new terminal will be built on reclaimed land along the re-export zone at Jeddah Islamic Port and is expected to handle up to two million 20ft equivalent unit (teu) containers a year.

The new terminal is also expected to contribute to the planned Land Bridge project with the completion of the Saudi Railways Project, creating a fast and efficient land-based link from the Red Sea to the Gulf.

More than 70% of the Kingdom’s imports pass across the port’s quays, including 65% of its imported foodstuff.