DP World and the Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) have announced that they have broken ground on a new solar-equipped logistics park at Jeddah Islamic Port, which will be the largest integrated logistics park in Saudi Arabia.
The greenfield facility, spanning 415,000 square metres, will be equipped with a rooftop solar plant generating 20MW of renewable energy, with 185,000 square meters of warehousing space, a multi-purpose storage yard, and a capacity for over 390,000 pallet positions.
It was shared the park is scheduled for completion in two phases, set to open in Q2 2025.
Further, the Mawani and DP World collaboration also includes the management of the South Container Terminal through a separate 30-year concession signed in 2020.
According to the companies, the terminal is currently in the final phase of a comprehensive modernisation project, scheduled for completion in Q4 2024, which will see the handling capacity being ramped up to five million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The two DP World projects represent a combined investment of close to 4 billion SAR ($1 billion).
His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “Saudi Arabia has always been a deeply important market for DP World and this milestone represents our ongoing commitment to the Kingdom. Jeddah Logistics Park, strategically located on the vital Asia-Europe shipping route, will provide world-class multimodal connectivity and market access for our customers while supporting the ambitious aims of Saudi Vision 2030.
“This investment marks a significant step as we mark 25 years of operations in Jeddah and underscores our enduring commitment to facilitating the flow of trade,” HE added.
President of Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), Omar Bin Talal Hariri, added: “This new logistics area will be connected to DP World’s South Container Terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, facilitating growth and increasing the number of containers handled at the terminal. The project is part of Mawani’s broader efforts to expand the number of logistics centres in Saudi ports, in partnership with major national and international companies, and in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy and Vision 2030.”