His Excellency the Minister expressed his concern that in spite of the availability of infrastructure, facilities and modern equipment,
in addition to the strategic location of the port between Jeddah Port and Bab El Mandab strait, the gate of Red Sea and passage of world trade, being the only passage for southern areas of the Kingdom which have a high population density; the use of these terminals and facilities were less utilized by the community thus resulting in a decline in the volume of cargo handled which were definitely not in line with the aspirations of the recent years, since the number of vessels arrived or departed from the port has been drastically declined.

In view of the above circumstances, the honorable Council of Ministers has adopted important resolutions to rectify the situation, which in turn would provide Jizan port with concessions in port services fees and charges for as follows:

- Canceling the vessels arrival and departure dues listed in the ports charges and dues schedule.

- Reducing the charges for all loading and unloading operation and marine services thru canceling the national treasury share to the revenue generated by the contractor against rendering these services.

- 75 % reduction in the charges that are collected from the consignees and which goes to the national treasury.

- Free storage period has been increased to 30 days for all export and import cargo.

These concessions and arrangements will continue for a period of five years starting from the date of coming into force. In addition to the above mentioned new measures, the Ports Authority has in the past taken several steps to support Jizan Port which are as follows:

• Establishing transit and transshipment services in the port.

• Reducing the port service fees by 50% for all transshipment cargo.

• Exempting from storage fees for all transshipment cargo for a free period of three months.

• Leasing port land to private sector at nominal and encouraging prices.

His Excellency, the Minister also said that such concessions and privileges granted to Jizan Port not only meant for boosting the operational activities in the port, but also there are a lot of social and economical dimensions that the government of the Custodian of the Holy Mosques wishes to achieve. The most important aim for such decision is the ultimate reduction in the cost of import and/or export cargo borne by consignees and thereby support and persuade them to use the port; encourage investors and businessmen to invest in the region through building agricultural, industrial and productive projects that might contribute to the development of the whole region; push forward the regional development process, raise the standard of living for citizens in the region and providing new employment opportunities to the great numbers of Saudi youth in the region.