Private sector investment in Saudi transport, logistics exceeds $74.7bn

17/12/2025 03:53 AST

Private sector investment, both domestic and international, in Saudi Arabia's transport and logistics sector has exceeded SR280 billion ($74.7 billion), contributing 6.2 percent directly to the Kingdom's gross domestic product, the minister of transport and logistics services said.

Speaking at the Supply Chain and Logistics Conference in Riyadh, Saleh Al-Jasser highlighted a 28 percent rise in employment in transport and storage activities by mid-2025 compared with the same period last year, adding 144,000 jobs to bring total sector employment to 651,000.

Air cargo sees 34% growth in a year
The minister noted that Saudi Arabia's aviation and air transport sector is entering a phase of expansion, with air cargo volumes rising 34 percent this year to 1.2 million tonnes, with the number of logistics centers also growing to nearly 30.

In a related development, Senior Vice President of Aramco Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Sulaiman Al-Rubaian, announced the launch of the joint "ASMO" project with DHL to enhance supply chains and procurement.

The project aims to establish an integrated network of six logistics centers covering more than 8 million sq. meters and manage annual procurement activities exceeding SR30 billion.

Iktva program establishes 350 local manufacturing facilities
Al-Rubaian also unveiled the newly developed supplier registration and qualification system, which integrates electronically with several government systems, cutting registration time by more than 50 percent.

He noted that the Iktva program contributed SR900 billion to gross domestic product over the past decade, adding that the initiative has created over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs in local supply chains and established 350 local manufacturing facilities, including plants producing 47 products manufactured for the first time in the Kingdom.

On the international front, Al-Jasser said Saudi Arabia climbed 17 places in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index and ranked among the top four emerging markets in the 2025 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, emphasizing the Kingdom's ambition to enter the global top 10.

Supply chain conference sees signing of 93 deals worth SR19bn
Over two days, the conference will witness the signing of 93 agreements and memoranda of understanding totaling SR19 billion to support a range of logistics projects in Saudi Arabia.

Among Monday's agreements was a MoU between ASMO and J.P. Morgan, alongside a partnership deal between Khaled Al-Dhafer & Brothers and UNITS Holding.

In the field of training and employment, key agreements included a framework training deal between King Khalid University and Meli, as well as a MoU between the Saudi Logistics Academy and Nupco. The academy also signed employment-linked training agreements with Lucid, in addition to two joint diploma programs with CEER and SMSA.

To further develop talent, other agreements and partnerships were also signed, including between Spark Logistics and DSV, and Spark and NAQEL.

Arab News