Jeddah Islamic Seaport began operations in 1976 with 10 berths. It has been expanded several times and now has 58 berths and deep-water quays.

The port is a major employer of Saudi nationals, with almost all of its staff from the kingdom.

The largest container terminal on the site (and in the region) is the North Container Terminal, which opened in 2001. It is operated by the UAE’s Gulftainer, and has seven berths along its 1,700-metre quay. The South Container Terminal, operated by Dubai’s DP World, has seven container berths along its 1,902-metre quay.

In 2009, the $540m Red Sea Gateway Terminal opened, adding 2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of annual container capacity, taking the port’s total capacity to 7 million TEUs. The terminal was developed under a build-own-transfer contract. High demand saw the terminal operating at full capacity within three years.

Current projects at the port include an expansion of the Red Sea Gateway Terminal, to increase its capacity to more than 2.2 million TEUs. Work is being executed by Greece’s Archirodon and the $67m contract is expected to be completed later this year.