Maersk and Mawani team up on logistics in Jeddah

The 225,000 square metre facility will provide Maersk’s customers extensive infrastructure for warehousing and distribution, cold storage, e-commerce and serve as a hub for transhipment, petrochemical consolidation, air freight and LCL (less than container load) cargo.

“The $346m investment project will not only create bespoke logistics solutions but also focus heavily on decarbonising logistics with the use of renewable energy to power the entire facility. The project is expected to create more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs in Saudi Arabia,” Maersk said.

The bonded and non-bonded warehousing and distribution (W&D) facility will cover more than 70% of the project’s total area. It will have different sections to accommodate general warehousing (food & beverages, furniture, automobiles, chemicals, textile & apparel and machinery, appliances & electronics) and cold chain storage (fruits & vegetables, protein and confectionary & consumables).

To cater to the rapid development of e-commerce in Saudi Arabia, the facility will also have a dedicated fulfilment centre. It will be able to handle annual volumes of close to 200,000 teu of different products.

“We have come a long way in realising our strategy to offer integrated logistics to our customers. Today’s ground-breaking ceremony is yet another milestone in building a logistics ecosystem that strengthens our position as an enabler of global logistics, while also focusing on our core targets around decarbonising logistics to achieve net zero by 2040,” Mohammad Shihab, Managing Director, Maersk Saudi Arabia said on Thursday.

Last year, CMA CGM moved ahead with a $130m container depot and warehousing facility at JIP.

Solar energy generated from rooftop panels spread over 65,000 square metres will power the facility, while trucks used for transportation at the park will be fully electric vehicles, Maersk said.

“The design of the facility utilises higher storage density, mechanised pallet-in-out solutions, a product-to-man pick-and-pack strategy and optimized flows, improving productivity by approximately 50% and effectively bringing down emissions. There will be a provision for additional space for e-commerce, value-added service and omni-channel fulfilment across all storage types,” it said.

Maersk is the process of trying to transform its business from one port-to-port container shipping line to acting as an integrator across the entire supply chain for its customers. To achieve this the Danish company is making significant investments in logistics and supply chain capabilities including warehousing.

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