Jeddah, Saudi Arabia– The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has reached a partnership deal with Port of Rotterdam to collaborate in the areas of smart ports, human capital development, knowledge transfer, and performance optimization in support of the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts aimed at creating a state-of-the-art investment and trade hub.
The agreement was signed at Jeddah Islamic Port by the Mawani President, Omar Hariri, and the CEO at Port of Rotterdam Authority, Boudewijn Siemons.
The deal will further enhance cooperation between both entities in port corporatization, a widely-adopted business model based on outsourcing terminal operations to the private sector while keeping the ownership and regulatory aspects in the hands of autonomous government bodies.
This will upgrade efficiency and productivity, as well as upskilling the sector’s workforce across managerial and scientific disciplines, Mawani said.
Designed to integrate and leverage the world-class capabilities, expertise, and competitive advantages offered by either party, the latest agreement falls under Mawani’s broader strategy to drive sustainable progress, reliable operations, and purpose-driven innovation within the Kingdom’s maritime sector as part of the ambitions set by Saudi Vision 2030, Mawani added.
The national maritime regulator had earlier inked a deal with Port of Antwerp International (PAI) to bolster mutual cooperation in the domains of port optimization, digital transformation, and capacity building in line with its objective to strengthen corporate governance, organizational excellence, and sector-wide growth.