WASHINGTON: A delegation from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port recently visited Valencia Port in Spain, Europe’s fifth busiest port, along with teams from other organisations to study and benchmark operational procedures in use. The accompanying organisations included officials from the Economic Cities Authority (ECA), the border guard, the Saudi Customs and the National Container Terminal (NCT), the main operator of the container terminal, said a statement from King Abdullah Port.
The delegates explored first-hand the key features of the terminals at Valencia Port, the working and business methods the Port Authority of Valencia employs, and safety and security standards and procedures, it said. King Abdullah Port officials previously visited the ports of Istanbul, Rotterdam and Antwerp. They selected Valencia Port for this year’s visit on account of it being the largest not only in Spain, but also in the Mediterranean Sea basin, and Europe’s fifth busiest port, it added.
“For the past three years, with our partners in the government and the private sector, we have been making visits to major ports to exchange knowledge and experience and utilise best practices at our port,” said Engineer Abdullah Hameedadin, managing director of the Ports Development Company, the owner and developer of King Abdullah Port. He said: “After each visit, we conduct a feasibility study to see how these practices may be utilised at King Abdullah Port by reporting our findings, just like other ports in the kingdom, to the border guard and Saudi Customs.”
“Also, the visits present opportunities to develop strong relationships with strategic maritime players from around the globe, and to keep the government agencies and our partners abreast with the plans and programs at King Abdullah Port, so as to market the port as a strategic gateway between the region and the world,” he added.
King Abdullah Port is Saudi Arabia’s and the region’s first port ever to be fully privately owned and developed. The port’s strategic location, comprehensive services, and advanced technologies enable it to be of service to the world’s largest shipping and freight companies, setting it up to achieve its vision of becoming one of the world’s major ports, hence strengthening the pivotal and important commercial and economic roles of the kingdom and playing an integral role in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030.
