King Abdullah Port successfully concluded its participation in and sponsorship of Sea Asia 2017, the event's sixth edition, which was recently held in Singapore as part of Singapore Maritime Week. Sea Asia 2017 was co-organized by Seatrade and the Singapore Maritime Foundation. The first participation of its kind for King Abdullah Port in the Asian market coincided with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz's unprecedented Asian tour, which resulted in several investment agreements. These agreements will contribute to supporting the Kingdom's role internationally and enhancing its financial, economic and logistics status thanks to a strategic location that qualifies it to become a world-class logistics hub. The exhibition was inaugurated by Khaw Boon Wan, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport in Singapore, who showed particular interest in King Abdullah Port's booth and learnt about all the port's details. Khaw explained that he follows developments in the Kingdom very closely and that he believes that Vision 2030will exert a major impact on the Saudi economy. Eng. Abdullah Hameedadin, Managing Director of the Ports Development Company, which is the owner and developer of King Abdullah Port, confirmed that King Abdullah Port's participation and sponsorship of Sea Asia 2017 strengthens its presence on the international scene and boosts its standing on the world seaports map by informing the international community about its major role. "The maritime transport sector plays a major role in supporting the Kingdom's orientations and strategies for economic diversification being implemented as part of Vision 2030, as the Kingdom seeks to encourage investment, facilitate procedures, reduce costs and remove restrictions to increase trade and transforming the Kingdom into a global logistics center," said Hameedadin. Neville Bissett, General Manager of the Ports Development Company, gave a presentation explaining the port's business model and the fruitful cooperation with the public sector represented by the Economic Cities Authority. Bissett highlighted King Abdullah Port's most important features, including its strategic location, its presence in King Abdullah Economic City, its close proximity to King Abdullah Economic City's Industrial Valley and Haramain High Speed Rail station as well as Holy Makkah, Al Madinah and Jeddah. He also addressed the fast containers' turnaround time, in addition to King Abdullah Port's state-of-the-art maritime services, the RORO and bulk cargo berths, and the Port's Community System and the Smart Gate System. These features contribute to making King Abdullah Port the most advanced port in the region, enabling it to enhance its contribution to the support and development of the national economy and the development of the regional shipping industry. Eng. Hameedadin concluded: "Our participation in this important event allowed us to meet with experts in the maritime transport field, exchange experiences and learn about the latest global market trends. This assists us in activating the maritime shipping sector and supporting trade between the Kingdom and the world. It also will restore the Kingdom›s fair share of maritime shipping to Saudi ports commensurate with the size of the Kingdom's economy." King Abdullah Port's booth was also honored with a visit from Sri Lanka's Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga, who exchanged opinions with port officials regarding King Abdullah Port's business model and logistics solutions. He also reviewed with the King Abdullah Port team some of the projects and solutions being implemented in Sri Lanka. By the end of 2016, King Abdullah Port had significantly enhanced its capabilities, contributing to the increase of its annual throughput to 1.4 million TEU and its annual capacity to 4 million TEU. This year, King Abdullah Port's management expects to finalize the first phase of bulk cargo terminals, with a capacity of three million tons, in addition to the RORO terminals with a capacity of 300,000 CEU. The RORO facilities are made possible through a partnership agreement with NYK Group, one of the largest car shipping companies in the world. Run by the Ports Development Company, King Abdullah Port is the Middle East's first port to be fully owned, developed and operated by the private sector. With its strategic location and state-of-the-art technologies, all managed by national and global experts who strive to offer the best possible services, King Abdullah Port has earned its place at the heart of the world's major shipping lines, all within a solid plan that will bring to reality its vision of becoming one of the largest ports in the world. — SG
