Saudi Arabia to grow local supply chains with logistics zones
Saudi Arabia plans to establish 59 logistic zones to support the growth of supply chains.
The plan, from the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services, is part of a local supply chain development initiative, which the government said would “develop industrial value chains for products”.
The scheme will increase investment in the integration of local supply chains and their connection with regional and global supply chains as a primary output, the government said.
Transport minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser told the Supply Chain and Logistics Conference in Riyadh the country had also selected 18 zones to become industrial logistic zones.
At the same event, Osama Al-Zamil, deputy industry and mineral resources minister, said the government was trying to integrate the work of SMEs with large strategic industries to achieve the goals of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Saudi officials say the Vision 2030 goals of diversifying the economy away from hydrocarbons are still in place. This is despite high oil prices propelling Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth to the highest rate of increase in the last 10 years, according to ratings agency S&P.
S&P upgraded its outlook for Saudi Arabia to positive and said GDP would grow by 7.5%.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and logistics firm Bahri announced plans to enhance cooperation across their supply chain operations at the conference.
Khalid Salem Al-Ghamdi, executive vice president of technical services at SEC, said the agreement would lead to greater supply chain sustainability and allow for the provision of innovative logistics services.
It would also allow SEC to source more local content and enhance national industry capabilities, he said.
