DP World and Mawani to establish logistics park at Jeddah Islamic PortDP World and Mawani to establish logistics park at Jeddah Islamic Port

Although the area around the port is congested, a number of pockets of unused land exist to make the new 415,000 square metre logistics park possible. The new facility will comprise an inland container depot with a handling capacity of 250,000 teu and warehouse space of 100,000 square metres.

“Integrated with the recently awarded 30-year concession for the South Container Terminal, the logistics park will bolster trade to enable Saudi Arabia’s strategy to become an economic powerhouse by 2030,” DP World said in a statement.

“We are committed to enhancing the role and the status of Jeddah’s Islamic port, which is strategically located on the Red Sea and has historically played a pivotal role in facilitating the movement of trade between the East and the West,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and ceo, DP World.

“A key part of our strategy as an end-to-end supply chain solutions provider, is to package logistical services for our customers and bridge any existing gaps in the market. Facilities like these will enable us to make deeper inroads into the Kingdom, by extending our collaboration with leading logistical service providers.”

Omar Hariri, president of Mawani said the new park would “contribute to raising the quantities of transhipped goods, in line with the national strategy for transport and logistics services.”

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In the past two years, operations at the port have been streamlined through the award of the North Container Terminal concession to Red Sea Gateway Terminal, reducing the number of operators at the port from three to two, to the exclusion of Gulftainer affiliate, Gulf Stevedoring and Contracting Co, which formerly managed NCT.

DP World signed a new concession agreement with Mawani in April 2020 to continue operating and managing the South Container Terminal at the port for the next 30 years, committing a total of more than $800m of investment to expand and modernise the terminal.

In reference to the South Container Terminal at the port, DP World said that when complete, the revamped terminal would increase the port’s container handling capacity from 2.5m currently to 4m teu, and solidify its standing as a major trade and logistics centre on the Red Sea coast.