MAWANI Announces Investment Opportunities to Develop 8 Saudi Ports

A view of the Jeddah Islamic Port. (SPA)
A view of the Jeddah Islamic Port. (SPA)
TT

MAWANI Announces Investment Opportunities to Develop 8 Saudi Ports

A view of the Jeddah Islamic Port. (SPA)
A view of the Jeddah Islamic Port. (SPA)

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI), through the Supervisory Committee for Privatization in the Transportation Sector and in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services (MOTLS) and the National Center for Privatization & PPP (NCP), has announced investment opportunities in partnership with the private sector to develop and operate multi-purpose terminals in eight Saudi ports.

The initiative comes in line with the objectives of the National Strategy of Transport and Logistics Services.

It also contributes to promoting the Kingdom’s economic growth, developing local services in the ports sector and raising the competitiveness of Saudi ports regionally and globally.

The promising opportunities are represented in build-operate-transfer (BOT) structure for terminals in each of Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, Ras Al-Khair Port, Jizan Port, Yanbu Commercial Port, King Fahad Industrial Port in Jubail, King Fahad Industrial Port in Yanbu, and Jubail Commercial Port, equipping the ports to serve various functions, including containers, general cargo, bulk cargo, RORO cargo, passengers, and livestock.

The initiative falls within strengthening the partnership between the public and private sectors in ports and logistics services. This is in addition to optimizing the utilization of assets and increasing operational efficiency in this vital sector.

Separately, the Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources signed a MoU with Sadara Chemical Company to develop the business environment of the integrated services zones.

The memorandum is aimed at diversifying economic sources to achieve an added value in the industrial sector and to contribute in providing job vacancies to citizens, as well as to push cooperation among government institutions, the private industrial sector and international firms.



Morocco Receives 17.4 Million Tourists in 2024, Up 20% on 2023

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
TT

Morocco Receives 17.4 Million Tourists in 2024, Up 20% on 2023

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Cinema Museum of Ouarzazate, Morocco, October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo

Morocco received a record 17.4 million tourists in 2024, up 20% compared with previous year, with Moroccans living abroad accounting for nearly half the total, the tourism ministry said on Thursday.
Tourism accounts for about 7% of the North African country's gross domestic product and is a key source of jobs and foreign currency, Reuters reported.
The number of arrivals this year was two years ahead of target, the ministry said in a statement. It expects Morocco to receive 26 million tourists by 2030, when the country co-hosts the World Cup, together with Spain and Portugal.
Morocco has opened additional air routes to key tourist markets, while promoting new destinations within the country and encouraging the renovation of hotels.
From January to November, tourism revenue rose 7.2% to a record 104 billion dirhams, according to Morocco's foreign exchange regulator.