SAGIA EYES USD 100 BILLION TRANSPORT SPEND BY 2020

Saudi Arabia is poised to invest $100bn over the next 10 years to transform the kingdom into one of the world's leading transport and logistics hubs, a new report has said.

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the investment arm of the government, has identified 19 priority investment opportunities for transportation projects, it said in the report.

It added that the "strategic location and large-scale infrastructure development" will position the kingdom as one of the world's leading logistics hubs by 2020.

SAGIA said 15 of the projects would be based in the planned Economic Cities and overall, a $100 billion investment was anticipated over 10 years, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Of the projects, five would be ports, three would be aviation-related, three would be rail-based while another three would be roads-related, the report said. It added that five logistics centres were also planned for the kingdom.

"Studies indicate several opportunities for capacity expansions and operational enhancements with attractive opportunities for qualified port operators," the report said, adding that Jeddah Islamic Port alone could increase capacity by 30-50 percent.

SAGIA added that air operators would be sought to drive expansions to Saudi Arabia's air transport infrastructure, with significant upgrades already underway at Jeddah Airport and a new cargo village has been planned.

The rail infrastructure in Saudi Arabia is in need of major expansion, SAGIA said, with planned projects including the 950km Jeddah-Dammam Land Bridge and a 2,000km Mineral Line running north to south.

Arabian Business

source: http://www.sagia.gov.sa/en/SAGIA/Media-centre/News/SAGIA-eyes-USD-/