Almajdouie Logistics together with its sister company RPL (Rabigh Petrochemical Logistics Company LLC) handled the first export shipment of petrochemical products through King Abdullah Port (KAP).

The cargo came from Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (PetroRabigh) and was transported to the port in early last month prior to shipping to Singapore. KAP is located at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Rabigh.

“As a logistics partner for PetroRabigh, Almajdouie Logistics takes pride in transporting the first shipment from a total of 54 containers to KAP,” said an Almajdouie spokesman. The cargo was loaded on to the MSC Daniela. Moving the cargo from factory to port took three days, the spokesman added.

The shipment represents the first export operation for King Abdullah Port.

The PetroRabigh containers were packed with polymer material.

“The port is an important infrastructure investment which, among other things, is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s strategy of developing downstream industries so as to drive value and job creation,” commented Jarmo T Kotilaine, a regional analyst.

Abdullah bin Saleh Al Suwailem, president and CEO of PetroRabigh, said: “The shipment is a significant step forward in the export operations of PetroRabigh products due to the proximity of the port to the headquarters of the company’s operations.”

It would contribute to the reduction of logistics costs for freight, help access global markets faster, and relieve congestion at Jeddah Islamic Port, he added.

Almajdouie Group’s president Abdullah Almajdouie said the beginning of operations at the new plant would ease congestion at Jeddah Port and in Jeddah city. However, “we have a long way to go,” he insisted.

Almajdouie Logistics has been in operation for nearly five decades.

King Abdullah Port is Saudi Arabia’s newest facility and the first privately owned and funded port in the country. Located just 100 km north of Jeddah, King Abdullah Port is strategically positioned to serve East-West transshipments as well as domestic volumes. It occupies approximately 15 million sq m, and its capacity on completion will be approximately 20 million teu. The port boasts more than 30 deepwater berths.

Currently Almajdouie Logistics handles over 300,000 teu annually through Red Sea ports.

In 2013 it received the Best 3PL Middle East Service Provider of the Year (2012) title at the Supply Chain and Transport Awards (Scata).

Starting as a land transport and trucking company in 1965, Almajdouie’s logistics division evolved over the years and is now considered to be one of the largest logistics service providers in the region with more than 6,000 employees and a total area of 2 million sq m of terminal and storage facilities in Saudi Arabia. Several years ago it gained entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for moving the world’s largest evaporator – as large as a football field and weighing 4,891 tonnes.