JEDDAH, 9 December 2005 — Activities at the Saudi ports are increasing by the day. This follows increased investments both from the government and private sectors in expanding their services.

“For quite some time, especially as the economy has become much more buoyant as a result of increasing oil prices, the private sector has shown interest in increasing its investments in various ports, especially at the Jeddah and Yanbu ports,” a senior executive of a major shipping company said.

Jeddah Islamic Port, which handles a major bulk of Saudi Arabia’s imports and exports, has increased its activities at least by 10 percent in the recent past,” Emad F. Abdul Jawad, general manager of Globe Marine Services Co., said in an interview. “Our estimate is the Kingdom’s imports have gone up by 10 percent and exports by a much higher percentage,” he said, adding that the prospects of the Kingdom becoming a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organization has also added to the increased trade activities.

“As the Kingdom prepares to improve its competitive edge with the WTO membership, its investments in shipping and all other sectors are continually rising. The private sector has not lagged behind, and is upgrading services through new investments in equipment and skilled manpower,” he added.

“We’ve always been focusing on modernizing our equipment and human resources. That’s how we’re today the local agent for 11 overseas shipping lines that operate container and Ro-Ro vessels,” he added.

From its pioneering background, Dammam-based Globe has grown into one of the foremost integrated cargo handling (stevedoring) operators in almost all the major ports of the Kingdom,” said Jawad.

The company, which offers a full range of shipping services, has over the years grown into a huge operation with 2,000 employees, 29 percent of them Saudis, from just 20 when it was established some years ago.

Shipping, transportation (trucking), and freight forwarding are among the major activities of the company, which has established its own SR9 million container terminal near the Jeddah port to offer container logistics and assist shipping lines.

The company recently signed a transportation contract with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC). With this three-year contract, it will transport SABIC products to countries including Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and sometimes to Turkey, from Jeddah and Yanbu. “In a matter of 10 years, we’ve increased our fleet of trucks from 20 to 150,” said Jawad.