Saudi Arabia plans to stage a number of roadshows in the next 12 to 18 months “as it seeks to persuade the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Deutsche Post AG’s DHL to help scale up air-cargo and distribution operations,” Bloomberg reports.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia plans to invite private companies to establish partnerships and set up freight-forwarding and warehousing activities. The push into air cargo and logistics aims to lift the amount of freight handled to 4.5 million tons annually by the end of the decade as part of a $100 billion plan to expand aviation in line with the Vision 2030 strategy of overhauling the Saudi economy and reducing its reliance on oil, per Bloomberg.
The publication cited an interview with Mohammed Fahad Alkhuraisi, vice president for strategy at the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. Alkhuraisi also said the Kingdom is expanding its airport infrastructure and setting up a new passenger airline in the Saudi capital Riyadh, preparations for which are “progressing very well.”
