Also on Our Radar

Launching new terminals despite the war

Mawani kicked off operations at the Jubail commercial port container terminal under a privatization agreement with Saudi Global Ports (SGP) — a JV between the PIF and Singapore’s PSA International — backed by more than SAR 2 bn in investment.

Jubail was pulled into the conflict’s risk perimeter, with cargo flows diverted, nearby waters exposed to attacks, and the broader Gulf system effectively frozen. That makes pushing ahead with the terminal read as a deliberate choice to stay the course on a pre-war expansion play rather than pause or reprice risk, positioning the port to capture flows if routing stabilizes.

Air traffic picks up for Egypt, Jordan

Passenger traffic at Cairo International Airport was up10.2% y-o-y in March despite the war, with 1.7 mn people passing through. The news came as Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air said it was aiming to boost its flight volumes to Egypt by as much as 300% by the end of 2027, focusing heavily on routes that would ferry an estimated 4 mn tourists to Egyptian destinations from Central and Eastern Europe. Wizz last month added capacity into Sharm El Sheikh to capture travelers looking for alternatives to routes closed by the war.

Turkey gets USD 2 bn from World Bank

Turkey is getting USD 2 bn from the World Bank to finance the Istanbul North Rail Crossing Project after the lender approved the loan earlier this week. The project entails building a new high-capacity line across the Bosporus Strait to link Europe and Asia.