Saudi Arabia’s central bank has revealed that financing for machinery imports increased to $3.6 billion in the first six months of 2012.
With the Kingdom currently projected to spend at least $400 billion on infrastructure and development of its economy in the next eight years, the country is experiencing a surge in machinery demand.
The rise represents a 15% increase on the previous period and coincides with a 46% increase in material imports (which now stands at $3.5 billion). 
In terms of cargo traffic, the Saudi Ports Authority has revealed that Jeddah Islamic Port is now handling over a third of traffic into Saudi Arabia – and saw an increase of 31% in the the first half of 2012.
