Riyadh, September 01, 2022, SPA -- The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) in partnership with the Emirate of Makkah Province has officially launched the new Gate 9 expansion at Jeddah Islamic Port after the rehabilitation of Aramco Refinery’s western road as per local and global best practices, which is set to enhance the port’s operational efficiency using sustainable development standards, while offering best-in-class services to improve the customer experience. The SAR17.5 million expansion and development project will play a major role in raising the average truck exit rate from 3,600 to 8,000 vehicles per day, as well as shorten the transition time between Jeddah Islamic Port and Al Khumra Warehouse City from 40 to 25 minutes. The route remains accessible around the clock, enabling trucks to swiftly enter and exit through four lanes equipped with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. With the support from HRH Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Province and HRH Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Makkah Province, Mawani and the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services have established an operational plan to develop business, expand the gate, and rehabilitate the road all the way to its intersection with King Faisal Road in Jeddah, and develop it according to the best local and international standards. Mawani has joined forces with its partners from the public and private sectors to modernize ports’ infrastructure in the Kingdom and scale up its overall efficiency to achieve sustainability, digitalization, and innovation, which helps in maintaining a safe and smooth functioning of supply chain activities and provides means to diversify the sources of the national economy, in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) to enhance the competitiveness of Saudi ports and reinforce their position as a global logistics hub. Mawani has revamped key roads within Jeddah Islamic Port spanning 2000 meters, which include the expansion of Road 35 from 3 to 5 lanes, to offer world-class logistics solutions, boost local supply chains, bolster economic development, and facilitate transportation to warehouses in record time. --SPA 00:26 LOCAL TIME 21:26 GMT 0002 www.spa.gov.sa/w1779576