The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) and the logistics company Bahri have signed an agreement to jointly build and operate an integrated logistics park of 95,436m2 on land leased at the Jeddah Islamic Port.
Once built, Bahri will manage operations for 20 years at the logistics hub, which will provide storage and handling services for all types of inbound and outbound shipping containers that are owned by Bahri and other entities.
The facility will also be capable of storing reefer, insulated and dry boxes with services like container maintenance and repair, container cleaning, bonded storage, and haulage.
“Leveraging Jeddah Islamic Port’s strategic location, this agreement will further expand Bahri’s import, transport, distribution, and storage capabilities and help the company raise the level of its services according to international standards,” stated Eng. Abdullah Ali Aldubaikhi, CEO of Bahri.
This project is a part of efforts to upgrade the operations of Jeddah Islamic, which is Saudi Arabia’s leading port in terms of imports and exports.
Omar Talal Hariri, president of MAWANI, noted that this project forms a core part of the authority’s initiatives to achieve the objectives of the National Transportation and Logistics Strategy (NTLS).
NTLS envisions setting up similar logistics zones within and beyond Saudi ports to empower the country’s bid to become a global logistics hub, as well as to accelerate economic development in line with Vision 2030.
Earlier in November 2021, MAWANI had entered into a similar deal with Maersk to establish an integrated logistics park at the Jeddah Islamic Port, set to be the company’s largest in the Middle East, with the aim of enhancing the port’s operational capabilities.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Ports Authority has also signed an investment agreement with Saffania Navigation to operate and maintain a bunker station at King Fahad Industrial Port in Yanbu.
The bunker station will feature storage tanks for bunker fuels like heavy fuel oil and marine diesel oil, pumping stations, pipeline networks, bunker measurement and metering stations, heating and cathodic protection for bunker tanks and pipeline networks, control room, as well as safety and fire protection systems.
