Riyadh, December 23, 2022, SPA -- In the presence of HE Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transportation and Logistics Services, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and MEDLOG, the logistics arm of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), have today signed an agreement to establish the first-ever integrated logistics park and re-export zone at Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port with an investment value exceeding 100 million riyals. The signing ceremony was also attended by HE Dr. Rumaih Al-Rumaih, Vice Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and Acting President of the Transport General Authority, as well as HE Omar Hariri, Mawani President, and Hisham Al Ansari, CEO of MSC and MEDLOG Saudi Arabia. The latest deal runs parallel with the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) to position Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub connecting three major continents besides fitting perfectly with Mawani’s pivotal role in building a booming and sustainable maritime sector that fronts the nation’s drive towards socioeconomic prosperity while fulfilling key strategic outcomes, such as expanding the number of world-class logistics parks and re-export centers to 30 as well as improving the Kingdom’s score in the Logistics Performance Index to 4.01 by 2030. To be built over 100,000 sq. meters, the state-of-the-art logistics park will offer a handling capacity of 300,000 TEUs alongside a suite of best-in-class logistics solutions which facilitate inland freight transportation between the Central and Eastern Regions and the rest of the Kingdom. Thanks to its close proximity to Jubail Industrial City and major urban centers in the Eastern Region, the logistics facility is primely-located to deliver competitive and cost-efficient services to the local market. Over of course of the last two years, Mawani had struck significant partnerships worth over 2 billion riyals with national and international giants to establish six modern logistics parks that have the potential of creating more than 6,000 direct and indirect job opportunities. --SPA 22:17 LOCAL TIME 19:17 GMT 0010 www.spa.gov.sa/w1830499