The Saudi Ports Authority (SPA) plans to raise the production capacity of Saudi ports to 500 million tons per year following its decision to construct 20 new berths.

Musaid Al-Drees, director-general of the SPA, told a local daily that the new berths will be operational within a two-year period, in addition to the current 208 berths whose capacity is estimated at 471 million tons.

The construction of new berths is part of expansion projects, which includes construction of support quarters and new facilities and equipment, as well as upgrading safety levels at the ports, he said.

The Saudi Ports Authority is jointly working with the private sector to finalize works at the ports aimed at boosting capacity and strengthening the confidence of international sea line companies at these ports, he was quoted as saying.

Many complaints have been filed by traders and customs dealers on the reported rejection of Saudi ports to clear imported goods.

Al-Drees said the body assigned to clear goods is the Customs Department, while the Saudi Ports task is primarily to load and unload goods. There are 11 government departments involved in the functioning of ports, such as the Customs Department, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (FDA), Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization and Border Guards.

He affirmed that Saudi ports have high capacities to receive huge loads, saying that the Saudi ports once received 10 million tons of cement, which had been recently ordered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.






In addition, the Saudi Ports had pumped huge investments aimed at securing modern equipment and facilities and upgrading the efficiency of the ports.