Jeddah Islamic Port is positioned along busy global shipping lines connecting three continents. It is described as the Red Sea’s top port for transit trade and transshipment of container and cargo. The scale of the port is clear in its infrastructure and activity. It has four terminals and 62 berths. It has also been witnessing growth in ships calling at the port. Last year, about 4,000 vessels docked at Jeddah Islamic Port. This momentum sets the context for the Jeddah Islamic Port container expansion story now centered on the Southern Container Terminal (SCT).
The SCT has been reshaped since DP World secured a 30-year Build-Operate-Transfer concession in 2019. DP World says it has transformed SCT into a modern, high-capacity gateway, supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The inflection point came when DP World completed a three-year project in March last year. The program was described as a massive $800 million modernization and expansion. The headline result was capacity doubling from 1.8 million TEU to 4 million TEUs. The same expansion also paved the way for a future capacity of 5 million TEU, with additional ship-to-shore equipment to be deployed as demand grows.
Inside the Partnership Shift at SCT
The expansion is also tied to a change in how global operators participate in the terminal. APM Terminals, Maersk’s terminal operator, entered into an agreement with DP World to acquire a 37.5 percent stake in SCT at Jeddah Islamic Port. The companies did not disclose the value of the investment. The move gives APM Terminals its first Red Sea presence and further expands its Middle East presence. DP World frames the partnership as combining complementary capabilities to enhance Jeddah Islamic Port’s role as a vital gateway to Saudi Arabia and a key Red Sea hub connecting trade flows between Asia, Europe and Africa.
Zooming out, Jeddah is also a center of activity for other operators at the same port, which underscores why capacity matters. Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) called itself the largest container terminal in Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea region and said it handled 3.1 million TEUs in 2024. It also stated an annual capacity of 6.2 million TEUs at its flagship facility located at Jeddah Islamic Port. Separately, a Term Sheet described a potential joint venture between CMA CGM’s CMA Terminals and RSGT to build and operate Terminal 4 as a separate 2.6 million teu container terminal adjacent to existing RSGT terminals, backed by a planned $450 million investment.
What changes when SCT moves toward 5 million TEU is not just a number. It signals a runway for scalable capacity tied to equipment deployment as demand grows, while keeping Jeddah’s role as a leading Red Sea hub in focus. The port’s fundamentals reinforce that role. It has four terminals and 62 berths, and around 4,000 vessels docked there last year. With APM Terminals taking 37.5% of SCT and DP World citing the $800 million upgrade that lifted SCT from 1.8 million TEU to 4 million TEUs, the Jeddah Islamic Port container expansion becomes a practical lever for carriers and cargo owners seeking reliable, scalable access in a corridor connecting three continents.
What is the Jeddah Islamic Port container expansion focused on?
How many berths and terminals does Jeddah Islamic Port have?
How many vessels docked at Jeddah Islamic Port last year?
What stake did APM Terminals agree to acquire in SCT?
What other container capacity plans are mentioned at Jeddah Islamic Port?
