Middle East charts a new course

Saudi Global Ports Company (SGP), which operates the container handling facilities in King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam, has secured a concession to modernise, expand and operate the Riyadh Dry Port Ecosystem (RDP). The long-term deal was agreed with the Saudi Railway Company (SAR) in early December.

The building of the GCC rail network has been painstakingly slow, but there is hope that trains will be running across some parts of the system within the next five years.

French carrier CMA CGM and Abu Dhabi Ports Group (ADPG) have signed an agreement to develop a new container terminal in the Port of Khalifa, under a concession for 35 years, on a 70% (CMA CGM)/30% basis.

Oman has ambitions to become one of the world’s 10 largest logistics hubs as it seeks a more prominent position in the Middle East market.

Omani state-owned transport group Asyad is to restructure its operations and will in future focus on its value-added logistics, port services, free zones, shipping, dry docks and e-commerce activities.

Like many ports around the world, those in the region have performed better than expected, given the background of the COVID-19 pandemic.