Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The first cruise ship terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port has been inaugurated on Wednesday, Saudi Ports authority 'Mawani' and the Saudi Cruise Company announced.

This announcement comes only six months after establishing the Saudi Cruise Company, which commenced operation last January at the "Future Investment Initiative" conference in Riyadh.

Also, this step comes two days before the launch of the first cruise from Saudi Arabia for "Bellisima" giant ship towards local and regional destinations, where the giant ship will depart from Jeddah Islamic Port to stations in Jordan and Egypt.

Managing Director of Cruise Saudi Arabia Eng. Fawaz Farooqi expressed his happiness with the achievements and steps achieved in a short time.

"The inauguration of the first cruise ship station represents an important step that contributes to the promotion and development of tourism trips on the Red Sea coast, and supports the growth of the tourism sector in the Kingdom."

"We're targeting creating 50,000 job opportunities by 2025, increasing cruise ships, inaugurating additional ports beside Jeddah Islamic Port, and reaching 1.5 million visitors annually by 2028," Farooqi said.

For his part, the General Authority of Ports President Omar Hariri considered choosing Jeddah Islamic Port to be the first gateway where cruise ships will dock and leave in the Kingdom for its pivotal strategic location.

"We worked with our partners to develop infrastructure, marine, and logistical services in Jeddah Islamic Port, by inaugurating a passenger terminal for cruise ships after developing it to accommodate more than 2,500 passengers," Hariri said.