CMA CGM Commits $434m to New Jeddah Terminal in Saudi Gateway Push

French shipping group CMA CGM has agreed to invest $434 million alongside Saudi terminal operator RSGT to develop a new container terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, giving the company a bigger presence at one of the Red Sea's main container gateways.

Under agreements signed in Paris on 25 August, the two companies will jointly develop and operate Terminal 4 at the port with the Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani. The new terminal will add up to 2.6 million TEUs of annual capacity, with new deep-water berths capable of handling the world's largest containerships, ten new ship-to-shore cranes and upgraded terminal equipment. The investment is equivalent to roughly SAR 1.6 billion.

CMA CGM already holds stakes in 64 port terminals worldwide, and the company has been pushing deeper into terminal ownership as a way to secure its shipping network. Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade said terminals were becoming "increasingly strategic assets, essential to securing our operations, strengthening major trade corridors and providing our customers with greater reliability."

The agreement was signed at a French-Saudi investment roundtable attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron. RSGT chief executive Lars Vang Christensen called it "a significant milestone in the development of RSGT and Jeddah Islamic Port," citing the capacity increase as a key driver. Executive chairman Aamer Abdullah Alireza described the deal as "a defining milestone" for Saudi Arabia's maritime sector.

Jeddah Islamic Port sits on the main Asia-Europe shipping corridor and has been a priority for Saudi Arabia as it tries to expand its ports and logistics capacity under Vision 2030. The additional capacity is intended to handle growing Saudi trade volumes and to strengthen Jeddah's role as a transshipment hub at a time when Red Sea shipping routes remain under strain.

The deal also gives CMA CGM a larger foothold at the port as it continues to build out its global terminal network alongside its shipping operations.