Contracts signed to deliver services at Saudi Aramco-backed Spark.

The former firm, a government agency created to facilitate trade, will build a logistics centre at Spark. As part of the contract, it will make customs services for imported and exported goods and services available to support a dry dock that will be built at the industrial hub.

The logistics complex will attract investment partners and international shipping firms, Saudi’s state-run press agency said.

Meanwhile, Spark’s agreement with SIDF, which finances manufacturing projects in the kingdom, will see the establishment of a system to provide land lots and loans for the project.

By making land and money available to the private sector, the agreement will help to attract energy, logistics, and manufacturing investors to the complex.

The agreement will see Spark and SIDF share research on joint projects to foster greater cooperation and integration.

Spark’s president and chief executive officer, Saif Al-Qahtani, penned the deals with undersecretary for trade facilitation at Saudi Customs, Faisal Al-Badah, and SIDF’s director general, Dr Ibrahim Al-Mojil.

The agreements were signed after HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inaugurated the kingdom‘s National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme earlier this week.

This initiative aims to attract more than $450bn (SAR1.7tn) of private sector investment to support economic transformation, as underpinned by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy.

Spark, located between Dammam and Al-Ahsa, is one of the projects that will support the kingdom's ongoing efforts to wean its economy off oil.

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