Saudi Arabia launches initiative to boost transport sector

Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority on Saturday launched its “Distinguished Transport Partner” program to strengthen public-private partnerships in the sector.

The program will benefit transport companies with a fleet of at least 500 licensed vehicles of different sizes including trucks, buses, and taxis.

The initiative aims to enhance the authority’s services in the transport sector and offer incentives to potential investors in land, sea, and rail transport.

In an official statement, the authority said the program was launched to expand the Kingdom’s transport sector, which will help boost its contribution to the national non-oil economy.

The authority said it will make use of all its electronic channels such as the Naql platform and the existing business service centers in 15 cities of the Kingdom to facilitate potential investors and existing transporters.

The centers are working in Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Ahsa, Qassim, Tabuk, Hail, Arar, Al-Jouf, Al-Baha, Asir, Najran and Jizan.

The business centers allow clients to use multiple services through the digital package provided by the Naql gateway.

FASTFACTS

• The program will benefit transport companies with a fleet of at least 500 licensed vehicles of different sizes including trucks, buses, and taxis.

• The initiative offers incentives to potential investors in land, sea, and rail transport.

• The program aims to make Saudi Arabia a regional and international logistics hub.

Fahad Al-Baddah, the authority’s general supervisor of operations and digital transformation, said the authority is keen to strengthen its partnership with the private sector to achieve one of the Kingdom’s strategic goals of becoming a regional and international logistics hub. He said the authority is exploring ways to boost direct and indirect communication using different resources.

Al-Baddah said these efforts aim to boost the quality of services and sustainability of the Kingdom’s private transport sector. He said the newly launched initiative seeks to create an environment conducive to investment. It will encourage local and international investors to do business and expand their existing operations, the official said.

Al-Baddah said the initiative will also help achieve the primary goals of the “Shareek” initiative, which was recently launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He said detailed information about the program can be found at www.naql.sa and the authority’s social media account for customer service @Naql_SAUDI.