THE Port of Jeddah faces serious congestion because of the run-up to the Ramadan holiday caused delays in unloading, restrictions at gates and the entry of trucks into Riyadh, just as rival port Saudi Red Sea Port of Damman was declared congestion-free after weeks of backlogs.

With Jeddah container import volume rising 22 per cent year on year, the port's capacity to handle such volume has been stretched, a situation attributed to the recent arrival of new 14,000 TEUers.



The usual turnaround time for unloading of 17 hours has slipped putting further pressure on the port's ability to manage the extra volume, said Saudi Ports Authority President Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijry, adding that this is compounded by an eight per cent increase in vessel arrivals.