The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and global freight major Maersk have announced the groundbreaking of the company’s biggest comprehensive logistics zone in the Middle East at the Jeddah Islamic port, according to a report by news portal Trade Arabia.
The logistics park, which will come up on a 225,000sq metres area in Jeddah Islamic port, is being built at a total investment of $346 million, the report said quoting a statement from Mawani.
As per information available, Mawani and Maersk first signed the agreement for the project at the end of 2021, and work on the project is expected to be complete in Q1 2024.
“This is one of the key initiatives launched by Mawani with the aim of developing and providing investment opportunities in logistics zones for the private sector, and increasing the number of logistics zones that deal with re-exports to 30 by 2030, in line with the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy to enhance the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics center and a hub for three continents,” the report said.
The facility offers several logistics solutions that connect and facilitate the movement of supply chains, and deal with annual volumes of up to 200,000 containers of different products, it stated.
As per the Trade Arabia report, the zone will include storage and distribution areas that accommodate merchandise intended for export and import, warehouses to accommodate refrigerated food products, as well as a re-shipping area, air shipping, LCL cargo shipping, and an e-commerce execution centre, with high-storage intensity designs, and leading mechanical solutions.
Once operational, will provide over 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, it stated.
The zone will use renewable energy and will apply decarburization solutions to achieve zero-carbon rates by 2040. Thus, the zone will be 100% powered by solar power generated by solar panels on rooftops, spread over 65,000 square metres, and trucks used for transport will be electric, to effectively reduce emissions.
The zone will operate according to an advanced warehouse management system that applies modern technologies and digital solutions to manage inventory efficiently, and provides unit-level tracking.