Maersk Saudi Arabia and Marwani signs a agreement

Saudi Ports Authority Mawani just signed an agreement today with the international mediator of container logistics, the Maersk Saudi Arabia, the subsidiary of the Danish investment group A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (Maersk). The agreement sets a commitment of an investment of 136Million USD (510 million Saudi Riyals) for 25 years to set up an Integrated Logistics Park at the Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia.

The out-of-town project that spreads over an area of 205,000 sq. m. will be the first of its kind at the Jeddah Islamic Port, offering a range of solutions with its target to connect and simplify the supply chains of importers and exporters in the Kingdom. Maersk will also be investing heavily in renewable energy to power this facility and eventually achieve carbon-neutrality. The project predicts creating more than 2,500 direct and indirect job positions in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 lays extensive importance in capitalizing on the Kingdom’s strategic location to build its role as a leading operator of international trade connecting continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe.

One of the main benefits is the port´s location.

Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Islamic Port is located strategically on the Red Sea coast, connecting the international shipping route between the east and the west. With over 5 million Twenty-feet Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers flowing in and out of Jeddah Islamic Port, it ranks as the largest port regarding the volume and cargo handling in Saudi Arabia and second-largest in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. Over 2.5 million TEUs tranship through the Jeddah Islamic Port annually. The port also connects to the countryside through firm highway and rail networks.

The bonded and non-bonded warehousing & distribution (W&D) facility will cover more than 70% of the total area, while the remaining part will act as a hub for transshipment, air freight, and LCL cargo. The W&D part will have several sections to operate general warehousing (food & beverages, furniture, automobiles, chemicals, textile, apparel, machinery, appliances, and electronics) and cold chain storehouse (fruits, vegetables, protein, confectionary & consumables). To provide the rapid growth of eCommerce in Saudi Arabia, the facility will also run a dedicated eCommerce fulfillment center. The Integrated Logistics Park will handle annual volumes of close to 200,000 TEUs across various products and merchandise.

The agreement that was signed in the presence of His Excellency, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Authority, Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Richard Morgan, Managing Director Maersk West & Central Asia, and several officials of related sectors. The agreement was signed by His Excellency, the President of the Saudi Ports Authority, Mr. Omar bin Talal Hariri, and the Managing Director of Maersk Saudi Arabia, Mr. Mohammad Shihab.

His Excellency, the Minister of Transport, Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, said “We are pleased today by the signing of this agreement, which will be a remarkable milestone in strengthening the Kingdom’s position regionally and globally and will contribute to transforming the Kingdom into a leading global center in the field of transportation and logistics services.” He added, “The authority’s new strategy supports the maritime transport journey in the Kingdom and enables the authority to continue developing a sustainable and prosperous maritime transport system that supports the Kingdom’s social and economic ambitions and contributes to achieving the ambitious goals of Vision 2030.”