Arab News, Sat, Feb 10, 2024 | Rajab 29, 1445
Saudi Arabia Railways transports 11m passengers, 25m tonnes of cargo in 2023
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia Railways transported more than 11 million passengers in 2023, a
growth rate of more than 50 percent.
The company said on Wednesday that the total
amount of cargo transported increased by more than 25 million tonnes, which
represented a growth rate in excess of 10 percent. This resulted in the removal
of more than 2 million trucks from the nation’s roads each year, the Saudi Press
Agency reported.
The figures were revealed on Wednesday as the
Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, also known as MODON,
and SAR signed two memorandums of understanding for the development of rail
transport and logistics solutions in industrial cities, in support of the
National Industrial Development and Logistics Program.
During the signing ceremony, which took place in
Dammam’s 2nd Industrial City, Saleh Al-Jasser, the minister of transport and
logistic services and chairman of SAR’s board of directors, said that the latest
international indicators, including the Logistics Performance Index, the Quality
Interdependence Index and the Maritime Interdependence Index, showed that the
Kingdom is making progress in global rankings for transportation and logistics
as a result of major projects in the country.
“The partnership with the industrial sector is a
long-established one, which started with the construction of roads over the
decades that benefit the industrial sector,” he said.
Various projects, including the development of the
northern railway, have helped support the industrial and mining sectors by
connecting the cities of Dammam, Jubail and Ras Al-Khair to ports in the Eastern
Province, he added, and other projects are under way that will provide more
benefits.
Efforts to improve the integration of transport
and logistics systems with the industrial sector, through the work of the
National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, reflect the importance of
cooperation and integration between government sectors, Al-Jasser said, which
aids the development of Saudi industry.
Speaking at the same event, Minister of Industry
and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef stressed the importance of the role of
the transportation and logistics sector in developing the industrial and mining
industry, and consolidating the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub in
line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
Linking the industrial cities in the Riyadh and
eastern regions to the train network will contribute to raising the efficiency
of logistical operations in the industrial sector and opening new paths for
trade and export, he said.
Alkhorayef emphasized that NIDLP plays an
important role in maximizing the benefits achieved from the four sectors that it
supervises — industry, mining, energy, and logistics services — noting that the
cost associated with transportation is an essential element for the penetration
of industrial goods and their access to local and global markets.
He went to say that railway transportation is one
of the best means in terms of cost, price of products and the environment.
The minister concluded by saying that the signing
of the MoUs between MODON and SAR aims to enhance integration and partnership
between the industrial and transportation systems, empower industrial sector
supply chains in the central and eastern regions and support supply chains with
global standards.