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RIYADH: The Saudi logistics sector is poised for growth thanks to DP World’s SR900 million ($250 million) investment to build a distribution center at Jeddah’s Islamic Port.

With this strategic move, the UAE-based international logistics company will also enhance its operational capabilities, providing its customers with more efficient and comprehensive services.

Sunday’s announcement signals the start of construction on the quarter-billion-dollar project, which will be completed in two phases and is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2025.

The park offers an onshore container base with a transshipment capacity of 250,000 twenty-foot units and 100,000 square meters of storage space, the press release said.

Integrated with the recently awarded 30-year concession for the Southern Container Terminal, the state-of-the-art facility will boost trade, positioning Saudi Arabia’s strategy to become an economic powerhouse by 2030.

In June 2022, DP World and the Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, signed a 30-year agreement with an investment of over SR500 million to build a state-of-the-art, port-centric logistics park in Jeddah.

The purpose of the transaction is to expand the park with an area of ​​415,000 sq m, which will include an inland container depot with a capacity of approximately 250,000 TEU and a warehouse area with a total area of ​​100,000 sq m. The potential expansion could increase storage capacity to 200,000 sq m.

The agreement was signed under the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, Saleh Al-Jasser, who is also the chairman of the board of the Saudi Ports Authority,

According to a statement from the Dubai Government Press Office, the 415,000 square meter greenfield facility will include 185,000 square meters of warehouse space and an extensive multi-purpose warehouse yard, making it the largest integrated logistics park in the Kingdom.

The statement further mentioned that the park will accommodate over 390,000 pallet spaces, providing customers with an efficient platform for the smooth flow of goods to and from Jeddah.

The cooperation between Mawani and DP World also includes the management of the Southern Container Terminal under a separate 30-year concession signed in 2020, the media office said in a statement.

She added that the terminal is currently in the final phase of a comprehensive modernization project, scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2024. Thanks to this project, it will be possible to increase the transshipment capacity to 5 million TEU.

“Saudi Arabia has always been an extremely important market for DP World, and this milestone reflects our ongoing commitment to the Kingdom,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, president and CEO of DP World.

He added that Jeddah Logistics Park, strategically located on the important Asia-Europe shipping lane, will provide customers with world-class multimodal connectivity and market access, while supporting the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

“This investment marks a significant step on the occasion of our 25th anniversary in Jeddah and underlines our continued commitment to facilitating the flow of trade,” Sulayem added.

On the other hand, President Mawani Omar bin Talal Hariri emphasized that this new logistics area will be connected to DP World’s southern container terminal in Jeddah Islamic Port, which will facilitate development and increase the number of containers handled at the terminal.

“The project is part of Mawani’s broader efforts to increase the number of logistics centers in Saudi Arabia’s ports, in partnership with major domestic and international companies and in line with the goals of the National Strategy and Vision for Transport and Logistics 2030,” Hariri said.