Under the supervision of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), Saudi Global Ports (SGP) and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited (ZPMC) have today signed an agreement to manufacture three state of the art quay cranes at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam. The deal was signed by Chairman of the Board for Saudi Global Ports Abdulla Zamil, CEO of Saudi Global Ports Edward Tah; and Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman and President of ZPMC Liu Cheng Yun and Senior Vice President and Executive Board Member of ZPMC Liu Qi Zhong. Witnesses of the signing included President of Saudi Ports Authority (“MAWANI”) Omar Hariri; Director-General of King Abdulaziz Port Captain Fahad Alamer; and Regional CEO of Middle East and South Asia and Head of Group Business Development of PSA International Wan Chee Foong. The agreement reflects SGP’s commitment towards transforming King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam into a globally competitive and sustainable container hub in line with the commercial concession signed with Mawani worth SR7 billion. The modern crane equipment will have a minimum outreach of 25 rows, which enables the handling of next generation giant vessels at optimum efficiency and scale. SGP is also assessing the possibilities to equip the cranes with remote operation and photovoltaic panels to harness solar energy to achieve sustainability and automation of port operations. The President of Mawani stated on this occasion that the deal was a direct result of the Smart Ports initiative which was launched earlier this year to boost the competitive edge of Saudi ports and keep pace with a continuously evolving maritime industry, which calls for developing logistical performance and container ports in the Kingdom given its strategic position as a hub connecting three continents and its leading role in regional and global trade in line with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS). Whereas the Chairman of the Board of Directors at SGP highlighted that his company continues to take bold steps to transform the Kingdom into a global logistics powerhouse in line with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives, along with achieving sustainability by looking at possibilities of harnessing renewable energy in future quay crane operations, supporting the Saudi Green Initiative, and participating in the global drive to combat climate change. Wan Chee Foong said: “PSA is pleased to have worked alongside Saudi Global Ports to develop the optimal design and specifications of the quay cranes and support the rigorous evaluation process. PSA’s commitment to the transformation of King Abdulaziz in Dammam into a leading port with long-term sustainability, automation, digitization and integrated supply chain goals will ensure Saudi Global Ports remain relevant and future-ready, realizing the Kingdom’s plans to become a global logistics hub." Noting that King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam offers full-scale operational services with the help of state-of-the-art crane equipment capable of handling all kinds of cargo, with two modern container terminals, one chilled and frozen cargo terminal, two general cargo terminals, two cement terminals (one for Black Portland cement and Clinker and the other for White Portland Cement), one bulk grain terminal, one iron ore terminal, a ship-building yard, and oil and gas stations, along with a ship repairing facility consisting of two floating docks that can accommodate vessels of up to 215 meters in length. As King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam is considered the Kingdom’s largest port on the Arabian Gulf coast, where it enjoys a unique location as a gateway of global trade with 43 berths, a total area of 19 km2, and a throughput capacity of 105 million tons, while being connected by rail to the Riyadh Dry Port, thus simplifying transportation of goods to the Eastern and Central Regions of Saudi Arabia from countries around the world.