Jeddah Islamic Port’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) is projecting a 4.1 per cent increase in its throughput in 2013 and a marginal increase in its share in the total port volume compared with the previous year, a senior official says.

RSGT recorded throughput of 1.34 million teu last year and is forecasting it will rise to 1.4 million teu this year, said commercial manager Wan Kamal Azlan. The terminal has also been increasing its share in total volumes handled by the port, from 25 per cent in 2011 to 29 per cent in the following year but expects to notch up 29.7 per cent in 2013, the official said. In 2013 Jeddah Islamic Port is expected to handle around 4.7 million teu.

Top cargo categories inbound at RSGT were construction materials, food items, machinery and consumer goods. They contributed to a double-digit growth during H1 2013 but the growth rates weakened from the beginning of the second half due to the deportation of illegal expatriate workers, a slowed economy and fewer pilgrimages, among other reasons, said Azlan.

Outgoing consignments at the terminal were mainly petrochemical cargoes this year. “Growth of petrochemical cargoes was stagnant due to weakened demand in Europe and Asia, Azlan said.

A significant development at the terminal this year was the accumulative 4 million teu mark it reached over the past four years since it began the start of operations.

Also this year shipping lines UASC, CSCL, CMA CGM and MSC deployed vessels over 13,000 teu and began calling at RSGT on a weekly basis.

Among other lines using the terminal are YML, HJS, Cosco, EMC and CSAV.

RSGT markets itself as a terminal of choice for mega vessels (14,000-18,000 teu) and has been handling 13 mega vessel calls per month on average. It says it is the only terminal in Saudi Arabia  with capability to handle mega-sized vessels  with its  super Post Panama cranes having an outreach of 24 rows,  a deep water draft of 16.5 m and a wide turning basin of 650 m.

RSGT also provides the highest productivity among three terminals in Jeddah and is built to accommodate next-generation vessels, with a congestion-free 300-metre-wide dedicated navigation channel. It is provided with a yard of 500,000 sq m with handling capacity of 80,000 teu as well as an additional 230,000 sq m of yard reserved specifically for Customs inspection.

The outlook for shipping in Saudi Arabia looks very positive and RSGT is gearing to meet increased demand on its services.

“With volumes at the port expected to grow considerably in the next few years on the back of a strong Saudi economy and mega projects still in progress, RSGT is expanding its berth length and yard space and expects to accomplish the construction in 2015 in anticipation of increased vessel sizes,” said Azlan.