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DHL Opens Mideast's Largest Robotic Sorting Center in Israel

Workers stand at a DHL robotic package processing site in Lod, Israel January 11, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Workers stand at a DHL robotic package processing site in Lod, Israel January 11, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
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DHL Opens Mideast's Largest Robotic Sorting Center in Israel

Workers stand at a DHL robotic package processing site in Lod, Israel January 11, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Workers stand at a DHL robotic package processing site in Lod, Israel January 11, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Courier services company DHL Express has opened the Middle East's largest robotic sorting center in central Israel, the company said on Wednesday.

Had it not made the 250 million shekel ($80 million) investment in the facility near Ben Gurion Airport, the company said it would not have been able to keep up with the pace of orders in Israel.

A hundred conveyor belts sort 20,000 packages an hour, roughly five times more than before, matching the most advanced centers in Europe, said Yair Bitton, CEO of DHL Express Israel.

A cargo plane can now be handled in 50 minutes instead of four hours, Reuters reported. The automated sorting system requires 70% less manpower, so employees have been trained for other roles, DHL said.

"When we planned this facility five years ago we thought this facility would be good for the next 20 years. Unfortunately, or fortunately, when finishing it we see that it's good maybe for the next five," Bitton said.

That has already led the company to explore other sites and solutions as well.

Israel's economy was expected to have grown about 7% in 2021 and was on course for a record year with recent data estimating exports - a key economic driver - reached as much as $140 billion, up 18% from the year before.

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Saudi Ports Authority Signs $53 Million Deal to Establish Logistics Zone at Dammam Port

Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)
Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)
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Saudi Ports Authority Signs $53 Million Deal to Establish Logistics Zone at Dammam Port

Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)
Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)

Saudi Arabia’s Ports Authority (Mawani) signed an agreement with Sultan Logistics to develop a new logistics zone at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, in the eastern region of the Kingdom. The investment is valued at SAR 200 million ($53.3 million) and will cover a total area of 197,000 square meters.

The contract was signed by Mawani’s Acting President Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki and Sultan Logistics Chairman Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani in the presence of several officials.

The new zone will include 35,000 square meters of warehousing space, administrative offices, and a designated yard for storing and maintaining both dry and refrigerated containers. It will also feature a re-export area, aiming to boost the port’s operational efficiency and the quality of logistics services provided.

The project is part of Mawani’s broader initiatives aligned with the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, which aims to develop logistics zones both inside and outside the Kingdom’s ports. These efforts support Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global logistics hub and to offer high-efficiency services in line with the nation’s Vision 2030 development roadmap.

The logistics zone at King Abdulaziz Port is expected to boost the port’s competitiveness by offering specialized logistics services, increasing the private sector’s contribution to economic development, and furthering economic diversification.

The year 2024 has already seen the launch or groundbreaking of eight logistics zones and centers across the Kingdom, with a total private sector investment of approximately SAR 2.9 billion ($773 million). These zones are part of a broader logistics infrastructure development plan involving over SAR 10 billion ($2.66 billion) in investments across 20 logistics zones overseen by Mawani.

Among the key milestones was the opening of Maersk’s largest global logistics investment at Jeddah Islamic Port—an expansive facility worth SAR 1.3 billion ($346.5 million) covering 225,000 square meters.