Saudi Arabia draws India’s Mundra port into a larger Gulf network

India’s Mundra port is set to connect with a large network of Gulf ports with Saudi Arabia as the hub.

Mundra Port, India’s top container gateway, will connect King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam. Every fortnight the vessel “Green Ace,” with a carrying capacity of 1,740 TEUs will sail not only to Dammam in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, but also to other Gulf ports–Jebel Ali (UAE), Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain), Hamad (Qatar).

The new service, branded as the Gulf-India Express 2 (GIX2) launched by Dubai based operator Aladin.

It complements the GIX loop that Aladin Express began in April, linking Mundra to Sohar, Jebel Ali, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah.

The port of Mundra has seen strong growth, powered by significant capacity expansion and aggressive carrier relationship strategies undertaken by the port owner Adani Group.

Mundra is located on the north shores of the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. It is the largest private port and the largest container port in India, equipped to handle dry cargo, liquid cargo, crude cargo, and containers.

(Irfan Mohammed is a journalist based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)