The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) announced the launch of Gulf-India Express 2 (GIX2) by Aladin Express DMCC’s shipping service from King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, in a bid to boost direct trade and shipping between the country and the rest of the world.
The new service will connect the capital of the kingdom’s Eastern Province to the ports of Jebel Ali in the UAE, Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain, Hamad in Qatar, and Mundra in India.
The fortnightly service will be operated by the vessel ‘Green Ace’, which has a carrying capacity of 1,740 TEUs (twenty equipment units).
The new service is part of Saudi ports’ efforts to elevate the domestic ports and the maritime transport sector as well as upgrade its portfolio of services to importers, exporters, and shipping agents.
Mawani recently launched the ‘Smart Ports’ initiative to deploy and accelerate 5G-enabled digital transformation in local ports.
Last December saw global shipping lines such as Pacific International Lines (PIL), Regional Container Lines (RCL), and China United Lines (CUL) start a weekly shipping service from China to King Abdulaziz Port in collaboration with Saudi Global Ports (SGP).
The port’s competitiveness and expansionary plans were further bolstered with the addition of Shanghai and Singapore to PIL’s service in June this year, enhancing import and export operations.
As part of a recent deal between Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company (ZPMC) and SGP under the auspices of Mawani, the Chinese state-owned port equipment maker will manufacture three state-of-the-art quay cranes to enable King Abdulaziz Port to receive giant vessels.
The King Abdulaziz Port, which ranked fourteenth in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) for 2021, handled a record 199,609 TEUs last August.
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