Deema Al-Khudair 

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia signed five contracts to boost Jeddah’s port position as a leader in the Middle East.

The Kingdom’s Saudi Ports Authority, also known as MAWANI, signed a deal with DP World to create a new logistic park in Jeddah Islamic Port, following a similar deal with Maersk to create their largest logisitc park in the Middle East in Jeddah.

Commenting on the deal, the minister of Transportation and Logisitcs Saleh Al-Jasser told Arab News: “The kingdom is working very hard to implement its national transportation and logistics strategy which aspires to transform Saudi Arabia into a global logistics hub.”

“We are working very hard to implement many initiatives that will take us to this aspiration.”

DP World Park

Under the deal, DP World to commit an investment of over SR500 million ($133 million) to create a logistic park over an area of over an area of 205,000 square meters.

It will handle 250,000 TEUs containers with a warehouse area over 100,000 square meters. 

Maresk’s park

Last year, Danish shipping giant Maersk has signed an agreement with MAWANI to set up an Integrated Logistics Park at the Jeddah Islamic Port.

The agreement commits Maersk to an investment of $136 million over a period of 25 years for infrastructure for warehousing and distribution, cold storage, e-commerce and serve as a hub for transhipments, petrochemical consolidation, air freight and less than container load cargo.

The greenfield project will be spread over an area of 205,000 square meters and will be the first of its kind at the Jeddah Islamic Port, offering an range of solutions with an aim to connect and simplify the supply chains of importers and exporters in Saudi Arabia.

Maersk will also be investing heavily in renewable energy to power the facility and eventually achieve carbon-neutrality. The project is expected to create more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs in Saudi Arabia.