The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) said on Sunday that the upcoming Al Khomra Logistics Zone, located near the Red Sea port of Jeddah, is being positioned as a key hub on the Silk Road maritime trade route within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“Al Khomra’s location along the Red Sea coast, a major passageway for more than 13 percent of global maritime trade, will make it a vital hub on the Silk Road maritime trade route launched within the BRI,” the Saudi Ports Authority said in a press statement on Sunday.

Al Khomra, billed as Saudi Arabia’s largest integrated logistics zone, was officially launched during the ongoing 3rd Saudi Logistics Conference in Riyadh. 

In his opening speech at the event, Saudi transport minister Nabeel bin Mohamed Al-Amudi invited the private sector to invest in the Kingdom’s newest logistics zone, which will contribute to the transforming Saudi Arabia into a major hub connecting the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The press statement said the first phase of the project is set to cover a land area of over two million square metres (sqm), with over one million sqm of gross flat area that will be made available to investors under a lease model.

In the statement, Saudi Ports Authority Chairman Saad bin Abdulaziz Alkhalb highlighted Al Khomra’s “highly efficient roads network” connecting it to Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz International Airport and the upcoming Saudi Landbridge Project.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; editing by Mily Chakrabarty)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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