COUNTRY REPORT: KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
MAWANI The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) also comes under the purview of the Ministry. The authority seeks to enhance capabilities of Saudi ports to make them more competitive, using the best practices to reduce and mitigate the adverse effects that port activities have on the environment. Its mission is to create a safe environment for individuals, assets, and cargoes. Additionally, the Ministry supervises the Saudi Arabia Railway Company (SAR), which focuses on providing streamlined state-of-the-art railway services, while encouraging local companies and increasing local content. It is also focused on recruiting highly qualified professionals, investing in the construction and development of a unified railway infrastructure in the Kingdom and reducing its carbon footprint.
The National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) The launch by HRH The Crown Prince of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS), the most prominent event witnessed recently by the transport sector, has provided a new impetus to the transport and logistics sector. NTLS aims to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics
hub, connecting three continents. It seeks to enhance all transport services and means of transportation and promote integration among the logistics sector and the modern modes of transportation to support the comprehensive development of the Kingdom. The strategy primarily focuses on the infrastructure development and launch of many platforms and logistic areas, as well as the implementation of advanced operations. It also strengthens effective publicprivate partnerships to achieve four key objectives including to promote Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub, enhance quality of life in Saudi cities, achieve balanced general budget and improve performance of government authorities.
Additionally, the NTLS aims to establish a new national carrier and a new airport in Riyadh, increase public transport market share to 15 percent and reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent. It also aims to increase sector’s GDP contribution to 10 percent, and implement many projects to expand the railway network, including the construction of the Land Bridge that connects east of Saudi Arabia to the west, in addition to many major projects that will benefit the whole nation. HRH The Crown Prince is the Head of the Higher Committee for Transport and Logistics, which reflects his firm belief in the important role played by the Transport and Logistics Sector and development opportunities it offers to uplift the Kingdom’s economy, enable and support different sectors in the country.
Ambitious objectives
Saudi Vision 2030
The national strategy comprises many major projects and ambitious objectives, which include putting the Kingdom at the sixth place globally in road quality and reducing road deaths to less than eight fatalities per 100,000 population by 2030. The strategy also aims to achieve the handling of 40 million containers, transportation of 330 million passengers via Saudi airports, as well as increasing air freight transport capacity to 4.5 million tons.
Under Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s Transport and Logistics sectors have made several inroads and key accomplishments during the past few years. The first and the foremost among them is the Kingdom’s rise to the top position in the global road connectivity index for 2021 by the Global Competitiveness Report. It also ranked first in the Arab region in the installation of rumble strips,
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