Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the Prince of the Eastern Province, and the presence of H.E Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of the Saudi Ports Authority, this afternoon at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, “Mawani” signs 4 contracts to provide maritime services with investments by the private sector exceeding one billion riyals, with “Zamil Marine Services” and “Naghi Marine Co.” to provide a range of maritime services at 8 ports of Mawani, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services, and the National Center for Privatization.

His Royal Highness Prince of the Eastern Province emphasized that the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and under the supervision of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, may God protect them, is keen on supporting projects that make Saudi ports attractive to trade and occupy a leading global position in line with the objectives of the national transport and logistics strategy by providing a strong network of ports and offering efficient and highly competent integrated logistics services in accordance with the best global practices, in addition to contributing to motivating the logistics services industry, meeting the economic growth plans of the Kingdom, and achieving the targets and pillars of Saudi Vision 2030.

H.E Minister of Transport and Logistic Services explained that these contracts will expand the partnership with the private sector, support the competitive capabilities of the logistics sector and Saudi ports, enhance operational efficiency and performance of Saudi maritime services in ports, and renew the fleet of operational assets and maritime units through investment in 44 new maritime units, contributing to the support and growth of supply chain and supporting economic growth.

H.E Al-Jasser confirmed that these contracts also aim to empower the private sector in transportation and logistics projects and initiatives, as the private sector’s participation in the sector through privatization projects during the first half of 2023 exceeded 17 billion riyals. He added that the transportation and logistics system will continue to increase investment opportunities with all components of the private sector and enhance the contribution of local content in system projects, achieving the targets of the national transportation and logistics strategy and the Saudi Vision 2030, and to solidify the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub.

On his part, H.E President of the Saudi Ports Authority, Mr. Omar Hariri, pointed out that these contracts aim to enhance the regional and global competitiveness of the Kingdom by utilizing the potential of the ports in value-added investment projects. He also highlighted the role of maritime services contracts in empowering the maritime transport sector, diversifying the Kingdom’s economy, developing logistic services, and raising the Kingdom’s classification in international performance indicators.

On the part of H.E Mohanad Basudan, the CEO of the National Center for Privatization said that signing contracts for the privatization of marine services in eight ports is the result of an integrated and distinguished work among the privatization system team according to the privatization system, which is an evidence of high harmony and interconnection, and continuous interaction between the transportation and logistics services system and the privatization system. He also explained that the privatization and partnership projects proposed by the Center in cooperation with the sectors witnesses interest, competition, and attractiveness from local and international experienced investors. The Center received 64 companies and alliances during indication of interest stage, and he added: “We are currently working on presenting 200 vital projects, which in turn will contribute to improving the quality of the services provided and the operational efficiency of government assets.”

The contracts aim to add 27 new tugboats and 17 other new maritime pieces, attracting new shipping lines, and to promote the ports sector according to the highest international standards. This also includes improving one of the most important performance indicators, which is the time of assistance operations for towing by 45% across the eight ports. Also, these contracts aim, under the supervision of the Privatization Supervisory Committee in the Transport and Logistics Sector, to enable the Saudi marine sector to achieve advanced positions in global rankings and indicators by providing a range of basic maritime services such as towing and guidance operations, mooring in the hook area, and berthing, in addition to a range of additional maritime services such as diving, rescue, pollution and firefighting, crew and sailors transportation, supplying ships with fuel, and tug and marine units maintenance.

The marine services contracts are distributed among eight ports, where “Zamil Marine Services Company” is responsible for providing marine services at the Jeddah Islamic Port, the Jazan Port, the Ras Al Khair Port, King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail, and Jubail Commercial Port, while “Naghi Marine Co.” is responsible for providing marine services at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, Yanbu Commercial Port, and the King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu.

It is worth noting that “Mawani” is developing a sustainable and prosperous maritime transport system by providing highly efficient logistic services that increase the private sector’s contribution to supporting the economic development process, reflecting the success of the development operations led by the Authority, which aims to improve the ports operational processes and increase their capacity.