Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port, a leading port in the Middle East, has been ranked among the top 100 container ports in the world, according to the 2021 edition of the prestigious Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports published recently.

The port’s remarkable performance in 2020 despite the pandemic-related challenges enabled it to improve its ranking by three positions to reach the 84th position, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Jay New, the Chief Executive Officer of King Abdullah Port, said: “We are proud of King Abdullah Port’s growing reputation as an internationally recognized port with state-of-the-art infrastructure and efficient operations. The port’s consistently high performance in various global rankings and its unmatched service excellence have been driving its growth and resilience, enhancing our contributions to realizing the Vision 2030 objectives.

“This achievement inspires us to continue delivering on our commitment to transform the Kingdom into a top global hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, besides supporting the diversification of the national economy by facilitating the growth of non-oil exports.”

The improved ranking in the global list reflects King Abdullah Port’s continually improving infrastructure and facilities as well as its prompt and effective response strategy to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic. The accomplishment also acknowledges the efforts of King Abdullah Port to become the largest in the Middle East with the capacity to handle 25 million TEU annually.

The port recorded a 6.6% increase in container throughput in 2020; reaching 2,153,963 TEU compared to 2,020,683 TEU in 2019, and achieved a remarkable 16% increase in the number of imported containers compared to the previous year. As for bulk and general cargo, the port registered a 12.4% increase in 2020, reaching 3,329,380 tons, compared to 2,962,867 tons in 2019.

It continues to perform exceptionally well in 2021, substantially raising its throughput to be ranked first in increase among the regional ports during the first quarter, reaching 693,700 TEU, up 44.2% from 481,100 TEU recorded in Q1 2020. The port also achieved a new record for the monthly volume of breakbulk cargo by handling over 600,000 tons in April 2021.

King Abdullah Port’s stellar performance in 2020 has helped it to improve its rankings in various esteemed global lists and indices. Recently, it ranked 83rd in the prestigious Alphaliner’s global list of the 100 largest container ports, jumping up four spots from its previous rank.

Owned by the Ports Development Company, King Abdullah Port is the region’s first port to be owned, developed, and operated by the private sector.