No cargo backlog at Jeddah port

The Jeddah Islamic Port director general said yesterday that the port is not suffering from a backlog of cargo due to the lack of workers stemming from the Ministry of Labor’s recent crackdown on foreign laborers.
“These reports saying that we are experiencing a pileup of goods or uncontrollable cargo traffic are completely wrong,” Sahir Tahlawi, director general of the Jeddah Islamic Port, told Arab News. “We have no problem with customs or cargo and all traffic is clear and normal.”
He added that all workers employed in the Jeddah Port are recruited through proper channels, with expat workers required to present their iqamas to security officials daily in order to enter the port premises.
“We do not hire illegal workers,” he said.
Tahlawi also said that he and the port supports the government’s sponsorship system and move to raid businesses and remove illegal foreign workers.
“The Ministry of Labor has said they are planning to remove at least 1 million illegal foreign workers from Jeddah alone, and I think this is a positive move since crime and other problems are increasing due to a lack of control in the past of these foreign workers,” he said.
Arab News also spoke to an official in the Customs Department at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, who explained that they too, have had no problems due to the clampdown on foreign workers.
“Since the ports and airports are high security areas, we do not rely heavily on foreign workers in these sections and therefore would not seek recruitment of outsiders even if there was extra work, or as media reports say, a backlog of goods,” the official confirmed, while wishing to remain anonymous.
On Wednesday, Riyadh Gov. Prince Khaled bin Bandar granted a two-month extension on the time limit for implementing the Kingdom’s new labor laws toward increasing Saudization in the province. The extension covers 11 sectors including money exchange and banks, vegetables and farm produce, furniture, gold and jewelry, private schools, Haj and Umrah offices, holding companies and real estate firms.