Saudi Arabia moots new port facilities

Khalid Bubshait, head of the Saudi Ports Authority has said that the kingdom is considering building a new port in the Red sea city of Jeddah to handle rising imports such as wheat and barley under a food security plan, Reuters has reported. 'The idea of this port is still under study and no decision has been taken yet. We haven't decided on the size or number of docks yet,' he said. Jeddah Islamic Port (JIC) is the kingdom's largest with a capacity of 3.2 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), representing 73% of the country's container traffic. It is expected to nearly double its capacity to six million TEUs by 2011 as it is undergoing expansion of its three terminals.