Maersk and Saudi Ports Authority ‘Mawani’ broke ground for Saudi Arabia’s largest Integrated Logistics Park at Jeddah Islamic Port today. The greenfield project spread over an area of 225,000 sq m and will offer an array of solutions with aim to connect and simplify the supply chains of Maersk’s customers in the Kingdom. The $346m (1.3bn Saudi Riyal) 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.
“We have come a long way in realising our strategy to offer integrated logistics to our customers. Today’s groundbreaking 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.” says Mohammad Shihab, Managing Director, Maersk Saudi Arabia.
The bonded and non-bonded warehousing & distribution (W&D) facility will cover more than 70% of the total area of the Integrated Logistics Park while the remaining part will act as a hub for transhipment, air freight and LCL cargo. The W&D part will have several 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 penetration of eCommerce in Saudi Arabia, the facility will also have a dedicated eCommerce fulfilment centre. The Integrated Logistics Park will be able to handle annual volumes of close to 200,000 TEUs across different products.
The Integrated Logistics Park will be 100% powered with solar energy generated from rooftop solar panels spread over 65,000 sq m. Further, the trucks used for transportation at the Park will be fully electric vehicles. The design of the facility utilises higher storage density, mechanized pallet-in-out solutions, a product-to-man pick-n-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-com, value-added service (VAS) and Omni Channel Fulfilment across all storage types.
This investment is in line with Maersk’s growth strategy in Asia. In January 2023, Maersk announced to build first green and smart flagship logistics centre in Lin-gang, Shanghai.
Maersk will deploy warehouse management system that implements modern technologies and digital solutions for efficient inventory management, track & trace at the unit level and offers rich dashboards for higher visibility and deeper insights. These systems will help improve efficiencies and build a competitive edge for Maersk’s customers.
Source: Maersk
