المملكة: "Ports": 7 agreements worth one billion riyals consolidate Jeddah’s position as a global logistics center

General Authority for Ports, Engineer Sulaiman Al Mazroua, said that the project of the largest truck loading area in the world in the city of Jeddah formed a national model for integration between government agencies and the private sector, and contributed to enhancing the flow of Supply chains during a period of challenges, noting that the authority has moved today from managing the crisis to investing in the future by signing seven agreements to establish new logistics centers with investments exceeding one billion riyals.

Al Mazrou explained, during the signing ceremony of the agreements, that "Ports" Since the beginning of the crisis, it has worked according to four main tracks to ensure the continuity of trade movement, the first of which was enhancing maritime access, as more than 27 additional navigation services were introduced to the western region, increasing the capacity by more than 200 thousand containers per month, which contributed to compensating the shortfall resulting from the impact of the eastern region, and serving the markets of the Kingdom and the Gulf countries.

Raising port readiness

He added that the second track focused on raising port readiness from within, by improving operational procedures in cooperation with the Authority. Zakat, tax and customs, and increasing operational equipment with investments exceeding 640 million riyals within three months.

He pointed out that about 70% of the required equipment has already arrived at the ports, although the supply of this type of equipment usually takes between 18 and 24 months, while the rest of the equipment is expected to arrive during the months of July and August.

He indicated that the authority has also succeeded in developing transit transport operations, as activity increased from one or two operations before the crisis to About 3,000 operations per day are heading to the Gulf countries, including 2,000 operations departing from the Jeddah Islamic Port, which has strengthened the role of Saudi ports as a regional hub for trade movement.

A record achievement

Al-Mazrou pointed out that the biggest challenges were organizing the movement of trucks coming to Jeddah without affecting traffic movement within the city, which led to the implementation of the Al-Tafwij Area Project, in cooperation with the Jeddah Governorate Municipality and the General Traffic Department, where the number of truck entry lanes was increased from 10 to 10. 18 lanes.

He explained that the project was completed in just 52 days, on an area of one million square meters, and accommodated 170,000 trucks, in addition to creating an area designated for empty containers with a capacity of more than 200,000 containers per month. He appreciated the support provided by government agencies and partners, including the Traffic Department, the Border Guard, the Transport Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Jeddah Municipality, the Chamber of Commerce, in addition to private sector companies, stressing that the project was a success. As a result of the integrated work between various parties.

A new phase in the development of the logistics sector

Al Mazrou stressed that the celebration is not limited to the completion of the implementation of the Al-Tafwij area, but rather represents the beginning of a new phase in the development of the logistics sector, through the signing of seven agreements to establish logistics centers with contracts extending between 20 and 25 years, and with investments exceeding one billion riyals.

He explained that the agreements include two international companies, in addition to five Saudi companies that have expansion plans. And ambitions to reach global markets, indicating that these investments will contribute to creating new job opportunities, enhancing the economic value of Jeddah Governorate, and supporting the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aimed at consolidating the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics center.

• For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter