RIYADH - His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Transport and Logistics - may God protect him - launched today Tuesday 11/19/1442 AH corresponding to 6/29/ / 2021 AD, the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services, which aims to consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics center linking the three continents, improve services and all means of transportation, and enhance integration in the logistics system and modern modes of transportation to support the comprehensive development process in the Kingdom.

The strategy includes a package of major projects that enable the achievement of economic and social goals, and the adoption of effective governance models to enhance institutional work in the transport system, in line with the change of the Ministry's name from the Ministry of Transport to the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services.

His Highness the Crown Prince said: "This strategy will contribute to strengthening the human and technical capabilities in the transport and logistics sector in the Kingdom, and will enhance the connection with the global economy, and enable our country to invest its geographical position in the middle of the three continents in diversifying its economy by establishing an advanced industry of logistics services. Building high-quality systems of services, and applying competitive business models to enhance productivity and sustainability in the logistics sector, as it is a major axis in the programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and a vital sector enabling economic sectors, leading to achieving sustainable development.

His Highness indicated that the strategy focuses on developing infrastructure, launching several platforms and logistic areas in the Kingdom, implementing advanced operating systems, and strengthening effective partnerships between the government system and the private sector to achieve four main goals: strengthening the Kingdom's position as a global logistics center, and improving the quality of life in cities. Saudi Arabia, achieving balance in the public budget, and improving the performance of the government apparatus.

He added that the strategy aims to advance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to become the fifth globally in air transit traffic, increase destinations for more than 250 international destinations, in addition to launching a new national carrier, enabling other sectors such as Hajj, Umrah and tourism to achieve their national goals, in addition to The strategy will seek to raise the capabilities of the air cargo sector by doubling its capacity to reach more than 4.5 million tons.

In the field of maritime transport, His Highness the Crown Prince said: The strategy aims to reach a capacity of more than 40 million containers annually, with what this means of extensive investments in the field of developing port infrastructure and enhancing its integration with the logistic areas in the Kingdom, as well as expanding its connection with shipping lines. international; It is integrated with rail and road networks, which contributes to improving the efficiency and economics of the transport system lines.

His Highness explained that the railways provide their services in the passenger and goods transport sector through a network of 5,330 km in length, 450 km of which are in the track of the Haramain Express Railway between Makkah and Madinah, which is the largest high-speed transport project in the region. The strategy will also increase The total length of the future railways is estimated at 8,080 km, including the “land bridge” project with a length of more than 1,300 km, which will accommodate 3 million passengers and ship more than 50 million tons annually, with the aim of linking the Kingdom’s ports on the Arabian Gulf coast with the ports of the Red Sea coast, Opening new and promising opportunities for this line by passing through modern logistic centers, centers for economic activities, industrial cities and mining activities, and improving the logistic performance index of the Kingdom to be among the top ten countries in the world, where we will have an open market for operators and investors in railways, in a way that encourages the achievement of An important regional goal is to achieve interconnection with the Arab Gulf states with a railway line; This makes the Kingdom an influential role in the regional and international transport economies and a linking hub for commercial transport.

His Highness the Crown Prince stressed that the strategy is based on highly important pillars; It also includes the major road network, which our country is the first in its interconnectedness in the world. The Kingdom will also be - God willing - one of the internationally advanced countries in terms of road quality and safety. The strategy includes many initiatives aimed at reducing the number of accident victims to a minimum. Similar to the best international experiences, achieving efficient connectivity and developing public transport services in Saudi cities in parallel with achieving goals in terms of sustainability, preserving the environment, reducing fuel consumption by 25%, and providing smart solutions to facilitate the movement of travelers between cities and the transport of goods according to the latest technologies applied globally.

His Highness pointed out that one of the main objectives of the strategy is to increase the contribution of the transport and logistics sector to the national GDP, while the contribution of this sector to the Kingdom’s GDP is currently about 6%, the strategy aims to increase its contribution to 10% by taking the lead in the transport and services sector Logistics has advanced ranks to support the national economy, enable business growth, expand investments, and increase the annual non-oil revenues that this sector pumps to reach about 45 billion riyals in 2030.

In conclusion, HRH the Crown Prince said: "We are proud of the achievements made under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect him - and we look forward to moving forward to achieve more leaps that befit our dear country and the leadership it deserves, by intensifying efforts and achieving More successes, supported by the giving of a highly ambitious people, and we are confident in our ambitious cadres to achieve national goals in accordance with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”