In line with his “Vision 2030” to transform Saudi Arabia into a modern economic powerhouse, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, leveraging the Kingdom’s vast coastline to position Saudi Arabia as a global maritime hub connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. The strategy aims to make Saudi Arabia one of the top five nations for passenger transit. Reflecting this shift, the Ministry of Transport was renamed as the Ministry of Transport and Logistical Services, focusing on making Saudi Arabia a major logistical center, improving public services, advancing sustainability, and enhancing quality of life. In line with the strategy, Saudi Arabia has expanded and developed multiple ports along its Red Sea coast. The government has encouraged private sector investments to develop transport and logistical services in ports, which are targeted to contribute 10% of the GDP by 2030. The project seeks to invest more than $266 billion by 2030. 

King Fahd Yanbu Port 

In the first 10 months of 2018, Yanbu Port handled a total of 3.33 million tons of cargo, compared to 2.3 million tons in the same period in 2017. This reflects an increase of approximately 45% from year to year. Whereas, the Red Sea port handled 44.65 million tons in January to October in 2018, slightly down from 45.8 million tons in the same months of 2017.  

The King Fahd Industrial Yanbu port covers an area of 6.8 square kilometres, featuring 34 berths and 10 terminals with a handling capacity of 210 million tons. Recently, a deal was signed to establish a 110,700 square meter of integrated ship refuelling facilities to be built over a period of 20 years. 

Jizan Port 

In September 2022, Saudi Arabia inaugurated the Hutchison port in Jizan. The port is the third biggest in the Kingdom, having a capacity of 1 million TEUs a year and 4 million tons of cargo (including a terminal for oil tankers of Saudi Aramco). It can also accommodate fifth-generation ships larger than 21,000 TEUs and has a ship capacity of more than 100,000 tons.  

The Jizan investment forum further witnessed agreements and memorandum of understanding valued around $8 billion. 

In July 2024, Jizan City Port Basic and Transformative Industries signed contracts with China Harbor Engineering Company Arabia Ltd., Al-Dafe for Trading and Contracting, and Walid Mughashi Establishment. The cost of the contracts came to around $83 billion collectively. 

Jeddah Islamic port 

In 2024, an investment of more than $46 million was made to develop the port's first integrated logistics system, covering 100,000 square meters and an annual handling capacity of 300,000 containers.  

The Saudi authorities also announced opening of new trade routes connecting the Jeddah Islamic port to other key maritime hubs. The JDX shipping service will link the port with Damietta (in Egypt) and Tangier (in Morocco). The FME1 shipping service will provide routes to major Asian ports including Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo and Nansha (China), Port Klang (Malaysia), and Istanbul (Türkiye). Meanwhile, the MEDEX shipping service will connect Jeddah with Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali (in UAE), Karachi (in Pakistan), Colombo (in Sri Lanka), Mundra and Nhava Sheva (in India), Piraeus (in Greece), Malta, Genoa (in Italy), Fos (in France), and Barcelona and Valencia (in Spain).

In May 2025, the port received its first Hajj pilgrims: 1,407 Sudanese visitors. 

Port of NEOM 

Duba, was formerly a small, primary port for the Northwestern provinces of Saudi Arabia, and was generally neglected. As Saudi Arabia relieved its futuristic NEOM project, the port was transferred in 2022 from the Saudi Port Authorities to NEOM. Subsequently, the port was renamed as Port of NEOM in 2023 and up to $2 billion was invested in the port. The opening of the port was scheduled in 2025.  

In June 2025, the first automated cranes were installed. The port is highly crucial for Saudi Arabia as it will serve as the economic powerhouse of maritime shipping, as a part of wider Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion NEOM project.  

The port is targeted to have a logistics space of up to 2 million square meters with all the energy provided from renewable medium sources. It sits at the juncture of the Suez Canal and Red Sea, which accounts for 13% of world trade in itself. 

Conclusion 

Saudi Arabia has nearly 30 shipping services connecting it to various other regional and internal ports. The total exports rose to $224 million while the imports grew to $108 billion, with ports of the Red Sea playing a major role in this. Majority of exports were handled by the King Fahd Industrial port in Yanbu. As such, the ports along the Red Sea are becoming a major center for Saudi Arabian  exports, while the ports along the gulf are becoming a major source of imports.  

The Red Sea Gateway Terminal has planned to invest nearly $418 million into the Red Sea ports namely the Jizan port, Yanbu commercial port, King Fahd industrial port, and Jeddah Islamic port, over a period of 20 years. In accordance, the Red Sea Gateway Terminal will oversee the operational responsibilities of these ports.