JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s land customs ports recorded notable activity in outbound truck traffic to Gulf Cooperation Council countries, with a total of 88,109 trucks between March 1 and March 25, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority told Al-Eqtisadiah.
The authority, known as ZATCA, confirmed that the Al-Bat'ha crossing topped the list of border points in terms of the number of trucks heading to the UAE, with a total of 41,229 trucks, reflecting the intensity of trade movement between the two countries.
The King Fahd Causeway linking Saudi Arabia with Bahrain ranked second with 13,486 trucks, followed by the Salwa crossing leading to Qatar with a total of 11,227 trucks.
As for crossings linked to Kuwait, the number of trucks through the Al-Khafji crossing reached 10,437 trucks, and through the Al-Raq’e crossing reached about 5,255 trucks.
The Empty Quarter crossing leading to Oman also recorded the passage of 6,475 trucks during the same period.
GCC trade growth
These figures reflect the growing volume of overland trade between Saudi Arabia and GCC countries, supported by the development of logistics infrastructure and the efficiency of customs procedures, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s role as a key regional hub in supply chains and intra-regional trade.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia launched a package of qualitative initiatives for the transport and logistics ecosystem, aimed at strengthening logistical integration between Saudi Arabia and GCC countries.
They also aim to support the continuity of supply chains and enhance their resilience, while consolidating Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub.
This came during the extraordinary meeting of GCC transport ministers, held via video conference.
Truck rules eased
The initiatives included raising the permitted operational lifespan of trucks in Saudi Arabia to 22 years, including trucks coming from GCC countries, as well as allowing refrigerated cargo trucks from all GCC countries to enter empty to transport goods destined for those countries.
Dammam storage hubs
The initiatives also included the launch of GCC storage and redistribution zones within King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam to regulate container movement and allocate operational areas for each GCC country.
The development also included exempting GCC imports and exports from storage fees for up to 60 days.
The move aims to enhance storage efficiency and supply chain flexibility between the eastern and western coasts.
Regional coordination
Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh Al-Jasser said the meeting comes amid conditions in the region that require greater coordination and enhanced integration across transport and logistics sectors, noting that these challenges will contribute to strengthening the sector’s resilience and flexibility to serve GCC economies.
The minister reviewed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to enhance joint logistics work, highlighting the strong support from the leadership for sector initiatives and programs, affirming that the new initiatives come within an integrated vision aimed at building an interconnected logistics platform capable of handling global changes efficiently, reflecting the depth of ties between GCC countries.
Supply chain support
He noted that the transport and logistics system has launched a package of initiatives over the past few days to support the sector in Saudi Arabia and GCC countries, including providing additional operational corridors for containers and goods redirected from eastern ports and GCC ports to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Red Sea ports, to ensure the stability of trade routes with regional and global markets.
Transport expansion
Efforts also included hosting GCC carrier flights at Saudi airports to ensure smooth air traffic, activating combined “land-air” transport solutions to support shipment delivery, evacuating more than 25,000 passengers via 900 buses from land crossings, and operating more than 300 flights for GCC carriers through Saudi airports.
Connectivity boost
The initiatives also included adding four new shipping lines at Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdullah Port, launching a shipping line connecting Sharjah Port with Dammam and Umm Qasr with Bahrain, in addition to strengthening the Saudi land fleet, which exceeds 500,000 trucks, to meet regional needs.
Rail corridor launch
Saudi Arabia Railways, or SAR, also announced the launch of a new international logistics corridor via freight trains linking the ports on the Arabian Gulf with the Al-Haditha crossing, in a step aimed at enhancing cargo movement, improving asset utilization efficiency, and supporting supply chains within Saudi Arabia’s transport and logistics ecosystem.
