JOC Staff | Oct 09, 2012 11:13AM EDT
Global port-terminal operator PSA International over the weekend broke ground on its new container terminal at the Port of Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Singapore-based PSA’s local partner for the project is the Public Investment Fund, a publicly-owned equity firm, and the joint venture is called Saudi Global Ports, LLC. The project is estimated to cost over $500 million.
The consortium was awarded a 30-year concession for the project in July 2011, and the new terminal, Dammam’s second container-handling facility, is expected to be operational in three years.
At full build-out, the terminal will have a total quay length of 3,937 feet, a 52-foot depth alongside and 12 quay cranes, with an annual capacity of 1.8 million 20-foot-equivalent units.
Dammam is the largest Gulf port in Saudi Arabia. Severe congestion amid a rapid surge in inbound traffic has prompted several major ocean carriers to suspend bookings to the Arabian port temporarily.