Saudi Arabia's transport and logistics sector is still inefficient and urgently need improvement and upgrading, according to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia). “It is true that the transport systems and the logistics facilities of the Kingdom are inefficient and need improvement to be able to meet the current development thrusts this country has started,” Dr. Osama Abdouh, the head of the Sagia transportation and logistics sector, said Tuesday during the closing of the petrochemical and refining conference. He said because of the poor state of the transportation sector, Sagia is going to take over the management of transport and logistics facilities related to key economic projects, including the six economic cities now under development. Abdouh said Sagia will take the lead from key stakeholders in the transportation and logistics sector, including the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Finance, Civil Aviation Authority, Saudi Port Authority and the Saudi Railways Authority. He said plans for Sagia to take the key role in improving the country's transport and logistics sector are already completed and ready for implementation. “We will not allow the inefficiencies in this sector to affect and stunt the operation of vital economic projects such as the economic cities,” he stressed. In response to Sagia, Dr. Moayyed Al-Qurtas, vice chairman and CEO of TASNEE, cited during the conference the areas that need to be improved in the transportation and logistics sector. He said that in land transportation, the following need to be addressed: Qualified drivers, efficient driving schools and training programs, regular checkups of people and equipment, visa procedures, and easing of customs regulations in order to avoid long waiting times at the Saudi borders. He said Saudi ports are also in dire need of upgrading. “Jubail Commercial Port is still underutilized; there are still fewer imports than exports. Jeddah Islamic Port, the country's main port, because of perennial congestion and the effect of the global financial crisis, may face volume decrease in 2009 and the years to come,” Qurtas said. He said there is a necessity to increase the container TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) capacities of Jubail Commercial Port, Dammam Port and Jeddah Islamic Port in order to achieve the economy of scale. The long-term perspective is to increase the TEU capacity of Jeddah Islamic Port to six million (from the current 3.2 million) per annum, while Jubail Commercial Port must improve its current TEU capacity, which is expected to be around 90,000 in 2009. Dammam Port, which had a minimal upgrading two years ago, also need to increase its current TEU capacity of 1.3 million to 2 million per year and find a solution to the problem of congestion due to working hours and new customs procedures. “We are going to synchronize the upgrade and improvement in the transport and logistics sector to match the needs of the economic development drive of the Kingdom through Sagia taking the lead role,” Abdouh said. Saudi Arabia aims to excel in three competitive sectors by the year 2010. Those sectors are energy, transportation, and knowledge
