Mawani mulls awarding 12 BOT contracts to private sector in 2021

Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), in cooperation with National Center for Privatization and Ministry of Transport, is considering awarding 12 contracts under the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) system to the private sector, according to its president Saad bin Abdulaziz Alkhalb.

The planned contracts will target the operation of the remaining ports and services during 2021, Alkhalb told Alarabiya TV.

He also indicated that the BOT contracts signed so far were successful, with productivity ratios exceeding expectations by 10% during the six-month period that followed operation.

In December 2019, Mawani awarded a 30-year BOT contract to Red Sea Gateway Terminal Limited (RSGT), a 60.6%-owned subsidiary of Saudi Industrial Services Co. (SISCO), to develop and operate Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP). RSGT will re-develop the northern part of JIP, which will include the adjacent container terminal and RSGT’s existing terminal to become the largest container terminal in Saudi Arabia and on the Red Sea, according to data compiled by Argaam.

Meanwhile, Alkhalb said that the transcontinental shipping lines provide direct links between Saudi ports on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf with ports in the region, including East Africa, Egypt, and Jordan, with the goal of achieving direct links, activating trade, and boosting coastal freight.

During the past six months, those lines transferred more than 250,000 containers, the top official said, adding that Mawani seeks to double this volume to 500,000 containers in 2021, in addition to launching other services.