Kuwait’s Port Authority (KPA) plans to optimize metropolitan logistic activities on recently acquired lands as part of efforts to prop up local trade and lure more foreign investment into the country, its director general said on Sunday.
Sprawling “logistics cities” will be built on these new lands, which stretch over two million square meters, KPA Director General Sheikh Yousef Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah told KUNA in an interview, highlighting the importance of “logistics zones” as a tool whereby products are traded and sold.
Each one of the planned “logistics cities” would serve a particular purpose, he clarified, saying these zones would also prove beneficial to fledgling small and medium-sized enterprises, in addition to offering firms abroad lucrative investment opportunities.
A vital aim of the logistics cities’ project is to find a logistical solution with competitive prices for foreign companies that wish to store their goods regionally in Kuwait, attract foreign investment and fulfill economic growth, as well as support a diversification drive in the sources of income.
The KPA chief revealed that a planned “smart port” is, among the plans. It would be a facility that would serve as a “contact point” linking all concerned bodies, besides using automation and innovative technologies to manage day-to-day operations efficiently.
The project will connect the systems of all related parties to release and secure the flow of goods electronically, he added.
Meanwhile, KPA will establish its first dry port to serve the flow of goods, which will reduce the accumulation of trucks on the borders, Sheikh Yousef stressed.
On the Kuwaiti Port Authority’s revenues, he said an increase worth 400 % over the last six years pushed total assets to USD 186 million, an accomplishment the official attributed to meticulous planning.
