Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Public Transport Authority (PTA) is in the process of hiring an information technology company to implement a project aimed at developing a unified platform for the Saudization of the transport and logistics sector.

The authority has set 12 months as the contract implementation period, Al-Watan newspaper reported.

It is noteworthy that Minister of Transport and Chairman of the Board of Directors of PTA Saleh Al-Jasser announced in January 2022 that the ministry would launch an initiative, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and a number of relevant agencies, to Saudize 45,000 jobs in the transport and logistics sector.

While inaugurating a virtual job fair, he said that the ministry is working to identify four tracks during the next year, including a track for women’s participation; a track for the localization of modern transportation technologies; a track for self-employment, and a track related to the truck sector to provide suitable job opportunities.

The objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics include strengthening the links between sea, air, road and rail transport to improve freight services and embedding smart technologies such as automation across ports and logistics infrastructure.

The objectives aim to advance the Kingdom’s ranking on the Logistics Performance Index from 55th to the top ten, along with ensuring the Kingdom’s leadership regionally; and providing logistics services to support the success of the goal of placing the ranking of three Saudi cities among the top 100 cities in the world.

The objectives also include making Saudi Arabia a major hub for global projects to develop trade between the East and West with developed ports and railway connectivity; increasing the attractiveness of the Saudi market for individual investors and facilitates movement and transportation of goods through connecting with neighboring countries.

It also aims to provide lower cost for transporting and storing goods of Saudi origin, which encourages local industry initiatives as well as attracting industrial investors.

The strategy also includes global logistics platforms for maritime navigation with two global hubs for aviation; development of 69 logistic platforms that have been grouped into 27 logistic areas, eight areas at land ports and nine areas for truck parking to ensure optimum efficiency.