Saudi Arabia wants to become region’s largest logistics hub before 2030

Saudi Arabia is looking to become the region’s largest logistics hub before 2030, despite fierce competition, Al Eqtisadiah newspaper has reported, citing Nabeel Al-Amudi​, Saudi minister of transport and the chairman of the General Authority of Ports.

“The private sector accounted for 40 percent of Saudi ports in 2018,” Al-Amudi said, adding that the marine industry is one of the most important segments that will help turning the Kingdom into a logistics hub linking between the three main continents.

The stay period of containers was cut from 14 to less than five days, Al-Amudi stated on the sidelines of the 2nd Saudi Maritime Congress.

“Terminal handling increased year-on-year (YoY) in 2018, and we seek to reduce the container stay period to three days at the end of 2020,” he noted.

The Kingdom is seeking to increase the private sector’s contribution to the ports’ development to 70 percent by 2020.

Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih earlier announced that the country was raising $427 billion in private sector investments, which will include roughly $36 billion for logistics infrastructure. The investment will be used to develop Saudi Arabia into a gateway for the trade supply chains of Africa, Asia and Europe.