Tourism & Hospitality | Friday 1 February, 2019 2:25 am |

Saudi Arabia’s Transport Minister Nabeel Al-Amoudi launched a new online booking system on Thursday, for reserving dates, times and slots for trucks carrying freight to and from King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam.

The system, called “Fash,” was installed by electronic solutions company Saudi E-Tabadul Co., and will ensure the efficiency of the port is drastically improved by managing journeys and implementing strict time slots for businesses and haulage firms using Dammam to import and export goods.

E-Tabadul’s CEO, Abdul Aziz Al-Shamsi, said that the scheduling service would reduce waiting times to just 17 minutes; before, the process of docking, loading and unloading goods took over 3 hours. 

He added that reduced waiting and transfer times would increase the port’s operational capacity, which would, in turn, boost the local economy and the port’s profits.

The system will be unified with other similar services, and linked to the Ministry of Transport, the Public Transport Authority, the port’s border security and its operators, ensuring accountability at all levels, and smoother coordination between the different bodies.