Hutchison Ports and King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) have announced the signing of a concession agreement to manage and operate SPARK’s dry port and bonded logistics zone.
The concession was issued to Energy City Logistics firm (ECLC), a newly formed joint venture between SPARK and Colour Path Holdings Limited, a Hutchison Ports firm.
A signing ceremony for the concession agreement was arranged, which was reportedly attended by senior executives from both firms.
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SPARK is a 50-square-kilometre global energy centre in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Under the terms of the agreement, ECLC will be the only operator of a $400 million logistics facility in SPARK.
According to Hutchison Ports, the new facility will include container, breakbulk, and project cargo handling services.
The container will also consist of storage yards, warehousing, customs clearing, and bonded and non-bonded logistics solutions tailored to the SPARK energy ecosystem’s needs.
The dry port aims to accelerate the Eastern Province’s development with the integration of future rail and highway links and multiple expressways connected to SPARK site.
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Saif Al Qahtani, SPARK’s President and CEO, said: “The Dry Port is one of the key enablers for SPARK’s ecosystem.
“The signing of the concession agreement marks an important milestone for the Dry Port moving to the operation readiness phase.
“ECLC will be ready for SPARK tenants from day one with integrated logistics solutions and efficient services, so they can focus on their productivity and value creation activities.”
Eric Ip, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Ports, stated: “We are very pleased to participate in this mega project and contribute to the success of the Saudi Vision 2030 of developing the Kingdom into a global logistics hub.
“This partnership represents Hutchison Ports’ continued commitment to the Kingdom, and we look forward to a fruitful partnership with future business opportunities.”
