King Abdullah Port was awarded two prestigious titles at the 2021 International Finance Transportation Awards, in a strong testimony to its reputation as one of the fastest-growing seaports worldwide. The “Best Container Terminal” and “Best Bulk and General Cargo Terminal” awards recognize the port’s exceptional performance last year underpinned by its world-class services and capabilities.
Mohammed Al-Shehri, head of operations, and Khaled Shalha, head of marketing, accepted the awards on behalf of King Abdullah Port, at a glittering ceremony held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel in Dubai, under the theme “Celebrating Excellence.” The event saw several business leaders and professionals from across various sectors in attendance.
Jay New, chief executive of King Abdullah Port, said: “In pursuit of its vision to be an advantageous and sustainable world-class port, King Abdullah Port has reached distinguished milestones within a short span since its establishment. With a strong focus on developing facilities of global standards and market-leading service offerings, we have steadily built up a strong reputation for the port among its peers. We are proud that the 2021 International Finance Transportation Awards recognized these achievements on a global platform celebrating excellence.”
He added: “The coveted awards will motivate us to aim for further successes while also boosting our contribution to raising the efficiency of Saudi Arabia’s logistics and trade sectors, transforming the Kingdom into a top global hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, and increasing its non-oil exports, in line with the Vision 2030 objectives.”
The nominations for the awards were assessed and evaluated by the market research team and external partners of International Finance, a premium business and finance magazine based in the UK. The jury considered King Abdullah Port’s rise in prominence at the global level and strong growth in 2021. The port was ranked second among the most efficient container ports in the world on the Container Port Performance Index in 2020 by the World Bank and IHS Markit. The port registered double-digit growth in throughput with an outstanding 31 percent rise in container throughput and a 15 percent increase in bulk and general cargo last year amid the challenging market situation worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to receiving a higher CPPI ranking, King Abdullah Port improved its ranking to 84 in the 2021 edition of the Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports and was named the Middle East’s fastest-growing port during the first quarter of 2021 by Alphaliner, the global maritime data originator. Furthermore, the port’s achievements were recognized at the 18th edition of the Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa, with the “Outstanding Achievement” award late last year.
Owned by the Ports Development Company, King Abdullah Port is the region’s first port to be owned, developed, and operated by the private sector.
