AVIATION-

Saudia Cargo has inked an agreement with European logistics company Jan deRijk to expand its European services, the Saudi Gazette reports. The agreement, which was signed last month, will enable Saudia Cargo to leverage Jan de Rijk’s extensive trucking network, which includes specialized vehicles, to enhance its European operations and its market reach.

About Jan de Rijk Logistics: The company, founded in 1971, offers transportation, distribution services, and supply chain management solutions. It operates in five business segments: international transport, Benelux distribution, contract logistics, road freight forwarding, and intermodal transport.

Kuwait Airways is in talks to lease six to eight aircraft for a 12-year period as it faces possible delays of up to a year for Airbus aircraft that are on order, Reuters reports, citing its CEO, Maen Razouqi. The airline had announced a potential one-year delay in obtaining Airbus planes from a 2022 order of 31, of which 18 have been received. The airline’s CEO says that the party responsible for the delay should bear any associated costs, Razouqi added.

INVESTMENT WATCH-

SCZone one step closer to launching investment arm: The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) has received the Egyptian cabinet’s approval to set up a joint-stock investment company named SCZone Istithmar, according to a decision published in Egypt’s Official Gazette on Thursday. The SCZone in November announced plans to establish the investment company as part of a package of measures designed to boost FDI inflows into the country, explaining that the company would channel finance into projects being established in the zone.

The company’s role: SCZone Istithmar will strategically plan and manage the authority’s current and future investments. It will also help establish industrial development and utilities companies that serve the SCZone in partnership with private investors, both local and international.

SHIPPING + MARITIME-

Oslo-based RoRo player Höegh Autoliners has inked a five-year agreement with an unnamed automaker to carry cars from the US to the Middle East, according to a company statement. The announcement did not disclose details on the agreement’s finances or the name of the automaker, which it referred to as a “major international car producer,” but implied that the agreement could be worth more than USD 100 mn.

What they said: “We are happy to partner with this major international car producer for transportation of their cargo in one of our core trade lanes,” CEO Andreas Enger said. “We have a long history in the US to the Middle East trade and it gives us confidence that customers see us as their trusted long-term carrier for their products in this corridor.”

E-COMMERCE-

Emirates Delivers launches in Kuwait: Emirates SkyCargo’s online retail delivery platform, Emirates Delivers, has expanded its services to Kuwait, Trade Arabia reports. The platform will provide shipments and deliveries for products from the US and UK to Kuwait within 3-5 working days. Emirates Delivers first launched in 2019, with shipments from the US to the UAE, before adding the UK to the service in 2022.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING-

  • Qatar is working to ease customs procedures at ports and release merchandise faster. (Zawya)
  • Etihad Airways is set to launch four weekly flights from Abu Dhabi to Bostonstarting 31 March 2024, marking the airline's fourth US destination alongside Chicago, New York, and Washington. (Press release)
  • Iraq’s Transport Ministry has deployed two of 28 new automatic air monitoring stations at Kirkuk International Airport and Kirkuk Meteorology Department to monitor weather and climate changes. (Statement)
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