RIYADH: The Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani, has signed a deal to establish an integrated center worth over SR2 billion ($533 million) as part of a pilot project to supply ships with fuel at the Yanbu Industrial Port. The total holding capacity of the pioneering project is likely to reach 2.5 million metric tons. The authority signed the agreement with International and Trafalgar Co. Ltd. on Sunday in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy. This deal aligns well with the efforts made by the Saudi Ministry of Energy to increase the Kingdom’s share of fuel supply for ships transiting to 10 million tons. It also aligns with the authority’s goals to increase the number of logistic zones to 30 by 2030, thereby contributing to consolidating the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub. Earlier this month, Mazen Al-Bunyan, CEO of Standard Chartered in Saudi Arabia, said the Kingdom’s logistics initiatives are helping to drive the Middle East “into a new era of trade and economic prosperity.” He added: “The Kingdom aspires to become the next global logistics hub and has pledged to make its economy more sustainable and innovative.” With an area of 393,000 sq. meters, the new center aims to establish tanks for storing, trading, and mixing petroleum materials in two stages. In each phase, 1.2 million metric tons capacity facilities will be built, spanning over 196,000 sq. meters. At each stage, 144 storage units — including diesel tanks, benzene tanks, and heavy fuel oil tanks — will be built. These cutting-edge facilities, each with a storage capacity of 8,650 metric tons, are intended to provide the national petroleum industry with high-quality, cost-effective service while meeting local and international market demands. The deal was signed by Abdullah Al-Munif, Mawani’s vice president for commercial business, and Trafalgar CEO Khalid Al-Qahtani. The Yanbu-based King Fahad Industrial Port is the largest trading port for crude oil, refined petroleum, and petrochemicals in the Kingdom and the Red Sea. The port is ideally situated to serve the East-West global trade routes with a throughput capacity of 500,000 tons and infrastructure that spans 34 berths and 10 terminals.