Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with (stc), Ericsson and Huawei, the Saudi Global Ports Company (SGP), the Red Sea Gateway Terminal Company (RSGT) and DP World, as an effort to automate operations in the country’s ports.
The Smart Ports initiative that aims to automate operations in Saudi ports. The main goal of these agreements is to make Saudi ports a pioneer in applying modern technologies and enhancing their competitiveness at the regional as well as at the international levels in the field of automated handling, serving importers and exporters, providing logistics services within the maritime transport industry, and enhancing the Kingdom’s leading role in the logistics sector.
As mentioned, all parties will cooperate in accelerating and implementing 5G technology in both the logistics and operation sector to contribute to the automation of port operations. The partners will also cooperate in providing communications and information technology services as well as infrastructure, cloud computing services development, cybersecurity, application services, and platforms.
Mawani will work with its partners to activate the innovation, research and developing methodology for emerging technologies, starting from the stage of producing creative ideas to the stage of developing a technical conception and feasibility study for applicable ideas that will in its role result in new products and solutions that will contribute to upgrading the operational system and raising the quality of performance of the Saudi ports network.
Today, Saudi ports are entering a crucial stage of transforming into automated Smart Ports by adopting the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with their advanced applications besides relying on AI technology, IoT and technologies of 5G.
…the President of Saudi Ports Authority, Mr. Omar bin Talal Hariri, said during his speech at the launch ceremony of the initiative, adding also that “The aim is to raise the efficiency of the operational performance of Saudi port network and develop the marine transport system in order to enhance the Kingdom’s presence on the global logistics services map”.
It is worth mentioning that the local ports play a key role in achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 to increase the gross domestic product share of non-oil exports from 16% to 50%, especially since the ports account for more than 90% of the Saudi export movement.
