The Saudi Ports Authority and Danish shipping company Maersk announced the establishment of the Middle East’s “largest logistics park” at the Jeddah Islamic Port.
The Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani, announced the new Jeddah project, set to cost $346 million.
The facility will rely on solar energy to power its units and use the latest technology to decarbonize logistics services to achieve net zero by 2040. Electric trucks will be used for transportation to reduce emissions.
The facility is scheduled to be completed by the first quarter of 2024. It is expected to help create more than 2,500 direct and indirect job opportunities.
It will be constructed on 225,000 square meters of space, and have a 200,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit cargo handling capability per year.
The project includes warehouses to store chilled food items, storage and distribution areas for general commerce exports and imports, and specific sections for transshipment, air freight, and cargo shipments.
In October 2021, Mawani’s president Omar bin Talal Hariri said that the strategic partnership between the authority and Maersk is an important step toward achieving its ambition for Jeddah Islamic Port to become among the top ten ports in the world by 2030.
The new facility is part of Mawani’s new initiative to develop and offer investment opportunities in the logistical zones to the private sector. The aim is to increase the number of logistical zones that include re-export to reach 30 by 2030, which is part of the objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services.
The Kingdom’s Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services seeks to position Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub.
The logistics park will also include advanced digital warehouse management systems. It is part of the port authority’s efforts to encourage the private sector to invest in the sector in line with the Kingdom’s Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services.
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