SISCO’s Red Sea gets approval to develop Jeddah Islamic Port

Red Sea Gateway Terminal Limited (RSGT), a 60.6%-owned subsidiary of Saudi Industrial Services Co. (SISCO), received the approval of the Supervisory Committee of Privatization in the transportation sector to sign an agreement for developing and operating Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP).

The new build, operate, and transfer (BOT) agreement will be concluded in December to develop and operate the whole northern section of JIP, SISCO said in a bourse statement.

The agreement term is for 30 years starting from 2020, replacing RSGT's existing agreement.

Under the new deal, RSGT will upgrade the infrastructure and add new berths and equipment to enable JIP to become a pioneer in global container trade shipping between the East and West, the statement noted, adding that it comes in line with one of the main objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 to make the Kingdom a global logistics hub.

RSGT has already invested SAR 2.5 billion in the current concession since the container terminal project started in 2007.

“The planned signing of the concession marks a significant step-change for RSGT towards its strategic growth and it is part of the recent positive developments across the SISCO Group which demonstrates the company’s commitment to supporting the privatization initiatives under Vision 2030,” SISCO stated.

SISCO will announce further updates and the agreement’s financial impact in due course, the statement concluded.

In January, RSGT and the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) signed an MoU to develop a comprehensive long-term plan for the development of JIP.