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SAUDI ARABIA - Transport

Mohammad Al-Shaikh

CEO, DP World Jeddah & Country Head KSA

Bio

Mohammad Al-Shaikh was appointed CEO of DP World Jeddah in 2015. In addition, he serves as DP World Country Head KSA. Al-Shaikh started his career with DP World as an operations superintendent and has assumed several key operations and management positions in DP World UAE and DP World Jeddah over the years. Al-Shaikh graduated from the University of Dubai with a degree in information technology systems analysis, holds an MBA from the University of Middlesex, and has completed multiple leadership programs from AUS and Rotterdam Business School. He also holds technical certificates including Total Quality Management and Six Sigma.

"Saudi Arabia is emerging as a global economic powerhouse with 10% of the world’s seaborne trade passing through the Red Sea."

As a global company providing smart logistics solutions, DP World is dedicated to optimizing trade flows and ensuring an efficient end-to-end supply chain for global trade in Saudi Arabia.

Why did DP World choose to expand to Saudi Arabia, and what is the company’s potential in the region?

Saudi Arabia is emerging as a global economic powerhouse with 10% of the world’s seaborne trade passing through the Red Sea. This means that a significant portion of this cargo can be routed through Jeddah or other Saudi ports, presenting numerous opportunities for growth. The government is also investing significantly in infrastructure, especially the mega and giga-projects on both the eastern and western coasts of Saudi Arabia. The connectivity and scale of these projects make Saudi Arabia highly competitive globally. The ecosystem that can be developed around our port facilities and logistical solutions within the Red Sea will also further strengthen our global position.

As we enter the era of smart trade, how do you invest in new technologies and solutions to reestablish DP World as a key player within the logistics sector?

From a global perspective, DP World is continuously working on our digital platforms to maximize the benefits for our customers. Our aim is to create an integrated, one-stop platform where most trade activities are centralized. To achieve this, we have moved beyond the traditional port community system to develop the CARGOES Community System, which provides end-to-end visibility for the entire journey of cargo from its origin to its destination country. Through this system, we bring all our stakeholders onto a single platform, enabling clients to efficiently manage and track their shipments. We are also investing heavily in automating our terminal operations with platforms such as ZODIAC, our terminal operating system, which includes cranes automation, real-time container location tracking and more. Our goal is to connect these systems for a seamless end-to-end supply chain.

Can you shed more light on DP World’s agreement with the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) to develop a logistics park at Jeddah Islamic Port?

In 2020, DP World secured a concession with Mawani to continue operating and managing the South Container Terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port for 30 years, and we signed another agreement in 2022 that will build on that to create a state-of-the-art logistics park at the port. We will invest over USD133 million to create a dedicated 415,000-sqm logistics hub. Our hub will give customers cutting-edge multi-modal logistics solutions, facilitate trade for importers and exporters, and provide quicker turnarounds and higher efficiency. With the logistics park, we are building an end-to-end trade ecosystem that will link port operations directly to last-mile delivery activities while offering specialized services like temperature-controlled storage for cargo and options for processing, including over 30,000sqm of DP World warehousing. It’s an exciting project. At the South Container Terminal, we have agreed on a substantial investment of over USD800 million that will focus on three key areas: infrastructure, digitalization and decarbonization. We are currently in the process of building state-of-the-art infrastructure with increased capacity of 5 million TEUs. This includes upgrading and expanding our port facility, incorporating new equipment, and increasing the quay depth to 18m to accommodate larger vessels of up to 400m in length. In terms of digitalizing our port operations, though there is some manual work, the majority of activities are run from an office, with remote-controlled equipment. Apart from making us more efficient, one of our goals is to increase female workforce participation as there is less intensive manual work involved. We expect to complete our automation initiatives by the end of 2023. The last pillar is decarbonization, and our commitment here is reflected in our aim to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. We are embarking on a journey to electrify the majority of our equipment at all port facilities and business units worldwide. Where electrification is not feasible, we’re committed to utilizing renewable energy. By 2050, we aim to completely eliminate diesel consumption across all our ports, including the 85 terminals we operate worldwide. Each of our business units has been tasked with adapting to this change.

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