Emaar, the Economic City unveiled the final blueprints of King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) Sea Port, designed in co-ordination with Halcrow, the consultancy specialist in provision of planning, design and management services for maritime projects.

One of the six key components of the 168 million sq m KAEC, the sea port will be the largest in the Red Sea and one of the top 10 ports in the world with a capacity to handle 20 million TEU (twenty foot equivalent container units).

Planned as logistics hub, the world-class port is uniquely bonded with city’s industrial zone, facilitating the flow of primary material and products to the industries within the zone, furthermore assisting regional and global export.

The company concluded a comprehensive study on the world’s most competitive ports to highlight the key design factors.

The study took into consideration the neighbouring infrastructure networks to aid the smooth flow of goods as well as the administrative buildings within the port.

Set to be operational by the first quarter of 2011 the KAEC Sea Port will consist of a multipurpose cargo terminal and a 1.7 million TEU container terminal, after which the capacity of the port will be increased on several phases.

As per design the port will have a depth of 18 meters permitting mega vessels to anchor.

At a strategic location on the Red Sea and stationed on one of the largest and busiest shipping line routes, the mega-city’s Sea Port will create a regional logistics hub that will further stimulate the Saudi economy through new job and investment opportunities.

Furthermore the port’s integrated transportation system promises to deliver cargo seamlessly to various destinations – within the region and internationally.

“KAEC facilities planned and designed to satisfy not only current needs, but to provide for the kingdom’s future requirements and to boost the Kingdom’s global competitive advantage”, stated Fahd Abdul Mohsen Al Rasheed, board member and chief executive officer of Emaar.EC.

“In the planning, design and construction oversight of maritime projects Halcrow have a proven track record of success in creating state-of-the-art, efficient facilities and Halcrow team of technically diverse employees demonstrated the full range of expertise required for the KAEC Seaport.”

Halcrow Middle East Maritime director Richard Beard said. “We have achieved international recognition for engineering excellence by repeatedly striving to exceed our clients’ expectations, especially since our ports are a vital link in the global supply chain and contribute to the promotion of economic development in communities in which we work."

"The KAEC Sea Port will create a new world-class logistics hub on the Red Sea Coast, and will be key factor of economic growth for Saudi Arabia and the wider region," Beard noted.

Further to completion of design Emaar EC has chosen its partners to implement the project.

After intensive studies and negotiations, a MoU was signed with DP World, one of the fastest-growing and established port operators with a breadth of international port development and management expertise, to develop and operate the first phase of the KAEC Sea Port.

Emaar EC has also confirmed that it is in discussions with several investors interested in the port.

KAEC has six key components - the sea port, industrial zone, central business district (including the financial district), resort district, educational zone and residential communities.

The work is progressing on schedule on the first phase of the project which includes the sea port, industrial zone, resort district and residential communities.

The kingdom’s maritime sector is a hive of activity, playing a key role in shaping the country’s growth. Total cargoes handled in all Saudi ports reached more than 140 million tonnes last year