WS Atkins & Partners Overseas Engineering Investments has won a contract from the Saudi Ports Authority (SPA) for the development of masterplans for commercial ports in the Kingdom.
Under the terms of the $2.5m deal, Atkins will develop the master plans for the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam and Jubail Commercial Port within a duration of eight months.
The SPA also awarded the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) an eight-month,$2.3m contract for the development of masterplans for Jazan, Dhiba and Yanbu commercial ports. 
The redevelopment of the five ports is expected to cost $4.8bn, according to the president of Saudi Ports Authority Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri.
Atkins has been involved in several projects in Saudi Arabia including transport infrastructure projects such as Makkah Metro; building design such as the Riyadh Tower; high-profile master planning exercises such as Oasis City, Sub-Centre East in Riyadh; and front-end engineering design for the proposed minerals industry city at Ras Al Zawr in the Eastern Province.
