RIYADH: Improved operational capabilities at Jeddah Islamic Port led to a 25.07 percent surge in container throughput during April, according to a statement released by the General Authority for Ports, also known as Mawani. The total number of containers handled reached 465,438, up from the 372,064 recorded in April 2022. This rise came as Mawani further ramped up its infrastructure at Saudi ports while ensuring supply chain reliability. It also cements the authority’s efforts to facilitate import, export and maritime trade operations. Moreover, the progress also aligns with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy to position the Kingdom as a global logistics hub connecting three continents in support of the Saudi Vision 2030. The authority also revealed that transshipments recorded a 21.83 percent jump to reach 261,543 containers compared to 214,686 a year ago. Additionally, the cargo handled at the port in April 2023 hit 5.21 million tons, reflecting a 19.33 percent climb compared to the 4.4 million tons in the year-ago period. Overall, in April, the port moved an estimated 128,714 tons of general cargo, 305,038 tons of solid bulk and 34,109 tons of liquid bulk cargo. The maritime traffic at the port also rose 13.29 percent in April as the number of ships reached 324 vessels, compared to 286 in the same month last year. Last week, Mawani disclosed that improved efficiency across all Saudi ports led to a 13.34 percent year-on-year surge in container throughput during April. Figures released by the authority showed the number of containers going through Saudi harbors reached 681,663 20-foot equivalent units last month, compared to 601,429 TEUs in April 2022. Jeddah Islamic Port is witnessing major development plans to improve operational processes and further boost its capacity. It effectively contributed to the advancement of the Kingdom by 17 ranks in the Logistics Performance Index issued by the World Bank. The LPI — which covers 139 countries — measures the ease of establishing reliable supply chain connections and the structural factors that make it possible, such as the quality of logistics services, trade and transport-related infrastructure and border controls.