Arab National Bank has signed a credit finance package worth SR2.6 billion ($692.8 million) with Huta Marine Works to finance the construction and development of the King Abdullah Port (KAP) project in Saudi Arabia.

The bank is the mandated lead arranger for the finance package,  an Arab News report said.

The port, owned by Ports Development Company (PDC) at King Abdullah Economic City, is the first in the kingdom to be developed and managed by the private sector, it said.

"This deal is part of the bank's continuous efforts to establish a distinctive footprint in the development of the Saudi economy through supporting projects that generate tangible added value to the national economy and the community,” Robert Eid, managing director and CEO, was quoted as saying.

The port will cover about 15 sq km, and have a depth of 18 meters and an annual capacity of 20 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units of containers), said the report.

KAP is designed to become one of the most effective and globally connected ports in the Middle East and is set to recapture the kingdom's share of regional shipping operations, it added.