Saudi Arabia to expand air cargo ops, to organise road shows in 2023

Saudi Arabia is seeking companies such as Amazon.com, Alibaba Group, and DHL Express to boost its air cargo and distribution operations, said Mohammed Fahad Alkhuraisi, vice president for strategy at the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation in an event. The country plans to stage a number of roadshows by the end of 2023 as it seeks to persuade the e-commerce and air freight giants to help ramp up its own operations and infrastructure. It will invite private companies from abroad to create local partnerships and set up freight-forwarding and warehousing activities, Alkhuraisi added. In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 framework to reduce its dependence on oil and diversify its economy, the advance into air cargo and logistics aims to accelerate the capacity of the kingdom’s air cargo sector to more than 4.5 million tonnes per year by the end of the decade as part of a USD100 billion plan to enlarge the aviation sector.