The maritime sector is a key pillar for the diversification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economy, and it has been prioritised by the Saudi government due to its strategic importance. Saudi Vision 2030 has set a target for making KSA a global logistics hub. Correspondingly, the Kingdom has been investing heavily in its seaports to modernize their infrastructure and increase their capacity. For instance, several projects are now underway to boost the maritime transport sector, costing around 6 billion Saudi Arabian riyals (SAR) (USD $1.6 billion).

Senior Research Associate AHM Mehbub is a senior research associate at KAPSARC. He currently leads the maritime project, in collaboration with the Kingdom’s… AHM Mehbub is a senior research associate at KAPSARC. He currently leads the maritime project, in collaboration with the Kingdom’s energy ecosystem. This project invetigates future port activity and fuel forecasting. He also works on the KAPSARC Spatial Urban Energy System (KSUES) project. Prior to joining KAPSARC, he worked in Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW), a state government organisation, as a transport planner, and at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia as a researcher. He led the update on the state of transport in the TfNSW regions as part of the strategic planning for its Future Transport 2056. He has also worked as a lecturer at Khulna University of Bangladesh, and was later promoted to a professor in urban transport planning. He holds a Ph.D. with an examiners’ commendation for an outstanding thesis from the UOW. His thesis focused on modeling travellers’ preference heterogeneity.
Expertise
- Urban Sustainable Mobility
- Port Activity
- Alternative Fuels and Energy Efficiency
- Choice Modeling
- Future Transport Strategy at Local and National Level
Publications See all Ahm Mehbub Anwar’s publications

Saudi Arabia’s Potential to Further Hydrogen Use in the Maritime Sector
The maritime sector is a key pillar for the diversification of the Kingdom of Saudi…
21st March 2023
Understanding the Trajectory of Urban and Transport Development in Riyadh
The maritime sector is a key pillar for the diversification of the Kingdom of Saudi…
16th October 2022