The Ports Public Authority (Mawani) has entered into an agreement with the Saudi Agricultural Investment and Animal Production Company (Salic) to construct the first and largest regional plant for importing, processing and exporting grains in the country.
The agreement relates to leasing an area of 313 thousand square meters in the commercial port of Yanbu, and the station will be built in two phases, and its capacity will be about 5 million tons annually. The commercial port of Yanbu is distinguished by its prime location on the Red Sea coast, as it represents a competitive advantage because of its proximity to local and regional markets and the Horn of Africa.
This step comes in the context of a race between the Gulf states to lay down sustainable foundations to help achieve food self-sufficiency in the coming years, with increasing warnings of a shortage due to the wave of drought that is hitting the world due to global warming.
In this context, the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Abd al-Rahman al-Fadhli explained that this strategic partnership with the General Ports Authority, which extends for more than 30 years, is one of the tributaries of the food security system in the Kingdom.
The project aims to enhance the speed of the main grain arrival to Saudi Arabia, through the new terminal, which is the first regional grain center in the commercial port of Yanbu. But it may go beyond that, as the plant will be a regional grain collection center.
Source (London Arab newspaper, Edited)
