The Port of NEOM at Oxagon has achieved a pivotal milestone following the successful completion of its massive maritime expansion project led by international marine contractors. The comprehensive dredging operation successfully widened and deepened the port’s main access channel with a strict zero-material-discharge mandate, utilizing reclaimed earthwork to build out Oxagon’s foundational platforms. Alongside this dredging effort, engineers constructed over 4.6 kilometers of deep-water quay walls to establish seven new functional berths. These upgrades directly support a newly developed, 900-meter fully automated container terminal that delivers an initial capacity of 1.5 million TEUs, positioning the smart hub to accommodate the world’s largest container vessels. This progress aligns with a broader Public Investment Fund (PIF) strategic shift that prioritizes Oxagon as NEOM’s immediate economic and industrial engine, moving resources away from residential projects to focus on functional commercial infrastructure.
However, this strategic prioritization of the port has fundamentally altered NEOM’s regional connectivity, culminating in the official termination of the $1.6 billion NEOM Industrial City Connector (NICC) high-speed rail contract. The 57-kilometer transit line, originally awarded to Italian contractor Webuild to link the coastal industrial city of Oxagon directly with the inland skyscrapers of The Line, was permanently canceled with roughly 20 percent of the construction completed. As part of a sweeping, cost-driven restructuring aimed at scaling back unfeasible transit connections, the termination of this 230 km/h passenger and freight rail link underscores Saudi Arabia’s pivot toward standalone, port-centric logistics. Instead of relying on a cross-country rail network, Oxagon’s port operations are moving ahead by leaning heavily on automated, localized supply chains and maritime regional land-bridges to handle cargo distribution.
December 8, 2023
The Neom development project has offered contractors an opportunity to bid for a $6.4bn project on Neom’s Oxagon port work. The contract entails two project phases one of which has already been bid. Contractors already submitted bids for a $3.2bn package that entailed the construction of the port cargo terminal. The tendering process is ramping up as contractors and consortiums bid to secure the second tender. The project includes the construction works at Oxagon City’s industrial port. The deadline for the bidding process is set at 27th December for the $3.2bn contract to conduct building works and deliver infrastructure.
The contract is for the construction project at Terminal 1 at Oxagon Port. The contract is expected to be awarded in the first quarter of next year, probably in February. The scope of the Oxagon Port construction includes excavation as well as dredging which will be mandated by the contracted company. It will also include the demolition and construction of a new longer quay wall and channel widening at the port. The scope also entails container terminal quay expansion and earthworks as well. In addition to the construction of a flexible quay, the scope also entails the construction of several infrastructures within the port’s construction site. The contracted company will also appoint a consultant for the design execution phase.
Read also: QatarEnergy Issues Contract on Laffan Refinery 1 Upgrade
The Oxagon Port is a Critical Element of the $500B Neom Development
The construction works that will be conducted at the Oxagon port are crucial in the Neom development project. This is because it will allow greater volumes of construction materials to be imported for the project. Having an expected investment value of $500bn, Neom is defined as the world’s largest construction program. The construction of the port will be crucial for the successful completion of the project. The port is part of Oxagon which Saudi’s Crown Prince launched in late 2021. The Neom development will revolutionize the construction industry, and the Oxagon port will play a fundamental role in this.
Project Factsheet
Project Name: Port of NEOM (formerly Port of Duba expansion)
Host Region: Oxagon, NEOM, Northwest Saudi Arabia
Primary Objective: Serving as the central industrial, logistics, and supply-chain engine for NEOM and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
Core Development Area: 48 $km^2$ (Oxagon integrated industrial footprint)
Access Channel: 550 meters wide with advanced navigation capabilities.
Maximum Draft Depth: 18.5 meters (engineered to accommodate the world’s largest ultra-large container vessels, or ULCVs).
Quay Wall Length: 4.6+ kilometers of newly designed deep-water quay walls across seven primary operational berths.
Terminal 1 (T1) Footprint: Includes a dedicated 900-meter advanced, automated, and sustainable container terminal.
Initial Annual Capacity: 1.5 Million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units).
Handled Cargo Types: Containerized freight, dry/liquid bulk, project cargo, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) passenger/vehicle ferries, and heavy industrial hardware.
Automation Profile: Integration of the Kingdom’s first fully automated remote-controlled Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes, robotic terminal tractors, and automated yard stacking systems.
Digital Infrastructure: Run via a centralized, AI-driven port management network tracking customs clearance, real-time logistics analytics, and automated yard optimization.
Project Owner: NEOM / Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Lead Design Consultant: Jacobs
Marine Infrastructure: JV BESIX, Boskalis, and Modern Building Leaders (MBL)
Dredging and Channel Expansion: DEME and Archirodon
Estimated Infrastructure Investment: Over $7.4 Billion (including Phase 1 works and Terminal 1 development contracts)
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