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CARGO-
Etihad Cargo boosting belly hold cargo capacity: Etihad Airways’ air cargo arm Etihad Cargo is expanding the belly hold cargo capacity on its passenger flights, increasing its flights per week to 880 in November and over 900 by March 2025, according to a statement released on Thursday.
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The breakdown: The carrier will launch a new A320 route to Kenya’s Nairobi International Airport on 15 December, and is adding 36 weekly flights to Europe to destinations including Paris, Rome, Milan, and Frankfurt. Flight capacity will also be added to flights to Zurich, Manchester, and Dusseldorf. Flights to Malé will switch to widebody aircraft exclusively. Etihad will also increase its flights to Boston from four to daily flights, is set to add nine flights to its Thailand services, and increase the number of flights per week on its Bengaluru and Hyderabad services.
It doesn’t end there: Etihad cargo will also add 41 extra flights as of summer 2025, and will launch two new routes to Warsaw and Prague, with four weekly flights to each.
ZONES-
Schneider Electric opens new manufacturing facility in UAE: French multinational energy management and automation firm Schneider Electric has launched a new manufacturing facility in the UAE’s Hamriyah Freezone to provide AI-ready data center solutions, Wam reported on Friday. The facility will produce and assemble AI-ready prefabricated modular data centers to address the region’s expanding market, the news outlet says.
SILZ + Sapphire partner to build manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia: PIF-owned Alat subsidiary Sapphire has inked an lease agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Special Integrated Logistics Zone Company (SILZ) to build a light manufacturing facility in Riyadh Integrated logistics freezone, according to a statement released on Wednesday. The facility, which will have a 40k sqm floor area and is slated for completion in 2025, will produce tech for the automation of advanced industrial services.
STORAGE + WAREHOUSES-
Modon to launch self-storage facilities: The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) inked a SAR 880 mn MoU with the Luxembourg-based family office Sadel Group to build self-storage facilities, in a bid to support the food industry supply chain in Jeddah’s industrial cities, Modon said in a post on X. Other signatories included the Investment Ministry, and the Transport and Logistic Services Ministry.
LOGISTICS HANDLING
Aramex + ZK Holding set up logistics JV: UAE-based logistics provider Aramex has launched a JV with Abu-Dhabi based investment company ZK Holding to boost logistics, shipping, and courier services in Iraq, with operations expected to start in 2025, according to a statement released on Thursday.
The JV will provide fully integrated services that include domestic and international courier, freight forwarding, and contact logistics to support local, international, corporate, and retail businesses, as well as facilitate cross-border trade. It will unlock new trade lanes and provide access to new markets for businesses in Iraq, according to the statement. Aramex will be able to expand its footprint in Iraq through ZK Holding to over 7k points of sales across the country for widespread pick-up and drop-off services.
RAIL-
Kuwait and Qatar are making headway on a megaproject to link all GCC countries by rail, Newsweek reported on Thursday, citing a statement. Qatar has prepared design and construction documents for its section of the project, while Kuwait is in the process of sorting consultancy agreements for its design, which is expected to be completed by the end-of-year, GCC General Secretary Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said.
The details: The GCC Railways Authority and General Secretariat have made progress to “advance the phases of the railway connection project” between the GCC states, Albudaiwi said, noting that a number of early elements of the project have now been completed. GCC transport ministers set December 2030 as a target date for the launch of the GCC railway project last November. Once running, the railway is expected to be able to transport 201 mn tons of freight, which should rise to 271 mn tons by 2045, Albudaiwi said.
Background: The project to link Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar by rail was first ratified in 2009, but numerous delays meant that feasibility studies were only completed in May of last year. The project was previously projected to cost some USD 15 bn in investments. The Saudi cabinet later gave its go-ahead to a 111 km freight and passenger railway connection with Kuwait as part of the initiative in September.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-
- Alexandria Port Authority receives new tug: Egypt’s Alexandria Port Authority has added a new marine tugboat, the Mukhtar, to its fleet. The 35 m long vessel has a pulling force of 70 tons and was built locally under the port’s supervision. (Statement)
- Tbilisi Port to launch in January 2025: Georgia’s Tbilisi Dry Port, which is majority owned by the UAE’s AD Ports Group, is set to start operations in January 2025 instead of 4Q 2024. (Statement)
- Algeria + Qatar discuss maritime development: Algeria and Qatar’s transport ministries met up to discuss bilateral cooperation in ports, maritime transportation, and establishing a maritime link between the two countries. (Statement)
- Aramex inks agreement with EPA: Aramex inked an MoU with the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) to provide logistics services to publishers in the UAE to ensure the sustainability of the book industry, facilitate the distribution of publications, and help manage business costs. (Wam)
- Mawani + HPA partner up on port development: Saudi Arabia’s Port Authority (Mawani) has signed an MoU with the Hamburg Port Authority and Hamburg Port Consulting on modernizing port operations, digitalization, optimizing waterborne port transport infrastructure, and enhancing port efficiency. (Offshore Energy)
