Saudi- 'Dry port' could solve congestion at JIP

(MENAFN- Arab News) Saeed Al-Bassami, deputy chairman of the National Committee for Transport at the Council of Saudi Chambers, said a "dry port" away from the city center will be established to solve congestion issues at the Jeddah Islamic Port. "We will benefit from the experiences of neighboring countries in terms of procedures taken to allow transporting of goods out of the port," he said. Al-Basami said that the Makkah governorate will support and pursue the proposal with government bodies so as to regulate work procedures at the Jeddah Port. "The dry port will speed up the process of getting the goods out of the port, help carry out procedures more quickly and ease the burden on carriers transporting the goods to warehouses," he added. "Charges for transporting goods have risen by between 50 and 100 percent depending on the type and quantity of the goods and the carrier handling the shipments," he said. Meanwhile, the cost of shipment from the Jeddah Port to the city's borders have risen by 30 percent. Muhammad Al-Manie, head of land transport at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, said that meetings to overcome obstacles in the outflow of goods at the airport are still ongoing.