Saudi Arabia plans third major dockyard at JIP for $426m

Al Seraisry said addressing the Euromoney Conference in Riyadh on Wednesday that it will be built on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis under a Saudi-Malaysian pact.

The construction work is expected to begin soon, and the dockyard will have capacity to store 2 million containers. He added that it would be larger than the others, and would have better loading and unloading facilities.

“Port industry is a specialised industry in the Kingdom and we have introduced regulations for local investors to tie up with foreign partners who have necessary experience and technology in the field,” he said, and added that such collaboration have proven to be successful in the management and operation of ports in the Kingdom.

Al Seraisry said that a Chinese specialised company is currently studying the design and construction of the Kingdom’s ninth port at Ras Azzur in the Eastern province at a cost of $586 million.

“It will be a great priority for the government since it would facilitate the mining industry in the region. There will be plenty of more opportunities for foreign companies that have the expertise in the relevant field,” he said.

He added that under the proposed landbridge project, which will link the east and the west coast via Riyadh, trains would carry 8 million metric tonnes of goods by the end of 2015. “A total of 700,000 compartments will be built for the trains that would commute in the 1150km long rail line,” he said, and added that the project will reduce the number of road users and would enable passengers to travel at ease. “Our aim is to reduce the use of private cars on the road,” he said.

Public Pension Agency Governor Mohamed Kharashi said that the SR100 million Pioneer Investment Fund would soon be made a public company with limited shareholders.

The company has various profit sharing projects worth SR3 million in the Kingdom. These include projects such as the King Abdullah Financial City in Riyadh and a few projects in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah.