Container logistics company Maersk Saudi Arabia will set up a logistics hub for petrochemical exporters at King Abdullah Port in the kingdom.

The company has signed an agreement with the privately held port to set up a non-bonded warehouse to provide an array of services to local petrochemical companies. The services include storage of export cargo and pallet handling, stuffing, and shuttling, Maersk said in a statement.

The hub will be located within a two-kilometer radius from the terminal yard and directly adjacent to the customs inspection zone, saving time for exporters. Exporters based out of Yanbu will now have to truck their cargo only 200 km for loading onto vessels, compared to the almost 350 km to Jeddah, earlier, it added.

Initially, Maersk will invest in 100,000 square metres of warehousing space during the first two years of operations at the hub to meet an expected demand of one million metric tonnes of throughput from local suppliers.

Owned by the Ports Development Company, King Abdullah Port is the region’s first port to be owned, developed, and operated by the private sector.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com

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