DHL Express has opened a US$20.2 million state-of-the-art air/ground gateway at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia.
The new facility was officially opened earlier this month by Ken Allen, DHL Express CEO, Nour Suliman, DHL Express Middle East and North Africa CEO, and Prince Mohammed bin Saud bin Naif who opened the centre with the traditional unveiling of the plaque. It already went into operation last November, however.
Spanning an area of some 12,000 sqm, the Riyadh gateway includes a 4,700 sqm indoor sorting and loading area, 1,400 sqm of office space which will also serve as DHL’s new head office in Riyadh/ Saudi Arabia, indoor loading for up to 38 courier vans, giving more security to shipments, and over 90 CCTV cameras keeping track of every shipment across the facility. The conveyor belt will automatically weigh, measure and photograph up to 18,000 shipments per day.
The new Riyadh facility will also introduce a new network flight in addition to commercial capacity which will bring in 7,500 shipments daily that will now be promptly cleared as the facility will have its own on-ground customs clearance that is Transport Asset Protection Association (TAPA) certified.
It is the second of three new facilities that DHL Express has in plan for the Kingdom and that would total an investment size of over $95 million. The company already opened a 10,000 sqm Gateway and Service Center at Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport in 2013, while the third facility is a 5,850 sqm gateway at Jeddah International Airport. The investment will help support DHL’s continued growth in Saudi Arabia and the wider region resulting in even better transit times and network reliability, according to the company.
Nour Suliman, CEO, Middle East and North Africa, DHL Express, said: “The Middle East and North Africa and its trading links are growing in importance in the global logistics industry with strong growth projections for the next few years. Our plan is to be right at the centre of that growth to serve our customers. Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s biggest markets for DHL Express. Our capability in Saudi Arabia is a key revenue and service driver for the region.”
Geoff Walsh, country manager, DHL Express Saudi Arabia, commented: “This is a proud moment for us, our development in our capacity and network will allow us to meet the growing customer demand for fast and efficient shipment deliveries. The new facility will reduce the transit times by a day or two and will allow us to increase our flight capacity and schedules by 400%, therefore boosting customer satisfaction.”
DHL currently has 261 service centres and service points across 19 countries in the Middle East and employs 5,000 employees in the region, of which nearly 1,000 are in Saudi Arabia.
