Saudi Arabia launches $183.7m logistics corridor linking Jeddah Islamic Port to Al-Khumrah to boost trade flow

In a major milestone for Saudi Arabia’s logistics and transport ambitions under Vision 2030, His Excellency Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), officially launched the foundation for a new logistics corridor connecting Jeddah Islamic Port to the Al-Khumrah Logistics Park. The $183.7 million infrastructure project is designed to modernize cargo flows, improve transport safety, and accelerate Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a global logistics hub.

This high-priority corridor is being developed by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and spans 17 kilometers with two dedicated lanes in each direction. It includes 12 overpasses, emergency response facilities, rainwater drainage systems, and full bypass integration to minimize urban traffic disruption. The project is a core component of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS), a pillar of the Kingdom’s long-term economic diversification agenda.

What is the scope of the Saudi logistics corridor project and how will it enhance cargo movement efficiency?

The new corridor is engineered to decouple industrial truck movement from general public traffic within the city of Jeddah. By connecting the strategic Red Sea gateway of Jeddah Islamic Port directly with the inland Al-Khumrah Logistics Park, the project is expected to boost port handling capacity by 10%, according to officials at the launch event.

The corridor’s two-lane, dual-direction format is reinforced by 12 overhead bridges that remove bottlenecks at key intersections, ensuring seamless flow of freight vehicles. Emergency exits and integrated maintenance facilities allow for continuous operations, even during adverse weather conditions, facilitated by a purpose-built stormwater drainage network.

By removing container traffic from Jeddah’s urban roads, the initiative is also anticipated to reduce traffic congestion, noise pollution, and carbon emissions in city centers. Analysts believe this contributes not only to improved trade facilitation but also better urban livability and environmental compliance across the logistics value chain.

How does the Jeddah-Islamic Port corridor support Saudi Arabia’s National Transport and Logistics Strategy goals?

The corridor is a flagship element of Saudi Arabia’s NTLS, which aims to elevate the Kingdom into the ranks of the top 10 global logistics nations by 2030. The strategy centers on multimodal connectivity, optimized supply chains, and increased cargo throughput at key maritime, air, and inland ports.

Jeddah Islamic Port is a linchpin in this strategy. With 62 multipurpose berths and 12.5 square kilometers of operational space, it is the largest port on the Red Sea and serves as a transshipment node for Asia-Europe trade routes. Enhancing its cargo throughput through Al-Khumrah provides institutional users—including exporters, shipping lines, and customs handlers—a faster and more reliable last-mile connection to warehousing, bonded zones, and road transport.

Mawani President Eng. Suliman Almazroua highlighted during the event that the corridor will contribute to more predictable port operations and unlock regional investment zones by reducing inland freight delays, a chronic bottleneck in Saudi logistics planning until now.

What economic and trade benefits are expected from linking Jeddah Islamic Port with Al-Khumrah Logistics Park?

The Al-Khumrah Logistics Park is positioned as a regional trade enabler under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)-backed logistics framework. It offers scalable warehousing, temperature-controlled zones, e-commerce fulfillment capabilities, and bonded trade handling facilities. The new corridor streamlines direct truck access from port quaysides to these zones, dramatically cutting turnaround times.

Institutional investors and international logistics operators are watching the project closely as it opens up new avenues for third-party logistics (3PL) operations, just-in-time (JIT) inventory models, and customs clearance efficiency. The corridor will also integrate with the Saudi Landbridge rail project in the future, further enhancing multimodal convergence across sea, road, and rail freight.

According to market observers, the project could indirectly support non-oil GDP growth by bolstering Saudi Arabia’s role in re-export trade, especially targeting Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and southern Europe through the Red Sea corridor.

How are sustainability and urban planning concerns addressed in the corridor’s infrastructure model?

One of the key differentiators of this infrastructure investment is its sustainability footprint. Minister Al-Jasser emphasized that diverting heavy truck traffic away from urban arteries reduces emissions, congestion, and noise pollution—aligned with the Kingdom’s Green Saudi Initiative.

Planners incorporated environmental impact mitigation directly into the corridor’s engineering blueprint. The stormwater drainage systems, elevated crossings, and pollution-reduction design features are expected to yield long-term benefits for nearby urban communities. This blend of freight optimization and urban sustainability is a core aspect of Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure future, particularly in metropolitan nodes like Jeddah and Dammam.

From an institutional standpoint, the move strengthens Saudi Arabia’s alignment with World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) criteria, potentially improving its global rankings over the next few years.

What institutional sentiment and investor response has the project generated since its announcement?

Although the corridor does not involve public equity markets directly, institutional sentiment surrounding the project has been largely positive. Transport analysts view the investment as a crucial enabler of downstream private-sector logistics expansion.

The presence of senior Mawani officials and cross-sector stakeholders at the ground-laying ceremony signals multi-tiered alignment between public-sector infrastructure and private-sector demand. Infrastructure investors, including sovereign-backed logistics developers and industrial estate managers, are expected to engage with follow-on developments such as cold chain facilities, last-mile delivery hubs, and bonded warehousing complexes.

Additionally, international shipping lines operating out of Jeddah Islamic Port are expected to benefit from faster port-to-door transits, improving route reliability and schedule predictability—a key factor for retaining trade route competitiveness in the Red Sea region.

How does the logistics corridor reinforce Saudi Arabia’s long-term goal of becoming a global logistics hub?

The Jeddah-Islamic Port to Al-Khumrah corridor represents a tactical yet high-impact step toward realizing Vision 2030’s logistics pillar. It exemplifies how infrastructure can serve as both a trade catalyst and an urban planning solution, with measurable gains in throughput, environmental performance, and cross-sector alignment.

As Saudi Arabia eyes integration with Africa, Europe, and Asia through its three-continent strategy, physical infrastructure like this corridor becomes the backbone of broader ambitions such as customs unification, bonded zone liberalization, and end-to-end digital tracking systems.

Experts forecast that as similar corridors are replicated across Dammam, Riyadh Dry Port, and NEOM, the Kingdom’s logistics framework will mature from port-centric to network-centric, significantly elevating Saudi Arabia’s position on global supply chain maps.