Good morning, wonderful people. We have another packed issue for you this morning, full of updates on port infrastructure, mergers, and investments. Let’s dive in.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY-The Suez Canal Economic Zone will hand over by May a new 1k-meter container berth to the East Port Said Port, which will help raise the port’s capacity by 40%. The Suez Canal Container Terminal Company — East Port Said Port’s main operator — will then equip the berth with its superstructure. We have chapter and verse in this morning’s news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

PSA #1- All foreign trucks are now required to obtain and present a Naql (transit)e-document to enter Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s Transport General Authority (TGA) said, according to the state-owned Saudi Press Agency. The document is available on the Naql portal and outlines key information including sender and recipient details, trip itinerary, and routes. This new measure aims to promote “fair competition, enhance the investment environment, and improve safety standards for cargo services,” the TGA said.

PSA #2- Dubai’s Road Transport Authority (RTA) has opened two new bridges and a tunnel as part of the Falcon interchange improvement project, according to an RTA statement. The new developments cover a total of 2.3k meters and can handle c.28 vehicles an hour. The project — which covers the stretch between Al Khaleej Street, Khalid bin Al Waleed Road, and Al Ghubaiba Road — is a USD 1.4 bn infrastructure upgrade designed to slash commuter times across the city.

THE REALIGNMENT- Trade between Qatar and Iran is projected to reach USD 3 bn by 2025, an Iranian government official told state-owned news agency Mehr. This would mark a 440% increase from trade volumes between the two countries in 2021, which hovered around USD 555 mn, according to OEC data. Negotiations are currently ongoing between Iranian officials and their Qatari counterparts on the facilitation of maritime transport, trade shows, private sector cooperation, and currency exchange to help boost trade, the official told the news agency.

Oman and South Korea look to enhance bilateral cooperation in transport: South Korea’s Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong signaled in a letter to his Omani counterpart, Jassim Al-Sulaiti, South Korea’s interest in improving bilateral cooperation in the transport sector and utilizing modern and smart technologies in the sector, according to a statement from Oman’s Transport Ministry.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The World Bank will release its latest MENA Economic Update on Thursday:Ominously titled “Altered Destinies,” the multilateral lender’s upcoming regional growth report will look “in depth at how even temporary increases in the price of food can have lasting impacts across generations in terms of education, health and future income prospects.” The lender’s chief economist in MENA will discuss the region’s economic prospects in a livestream following the launch, at 3pm CLT / 4pm KSA / 5pm UAE.

MARKET WATCH-

Russian diesel exports grew 12% month-on-month in March to 4.5 mn tons despite a European embargo, Reuters reports, citing Refinitiv data. The higher export volumes came as Russia pushed its sales to markets outside the EU, which imposed a ban on Russian oil products in February. Turkey was the top importer of Russian diesel and gasoil, importing 1.6 mn tons from the country during the month (up nearly 100% m-o-m), followed by Brazil at 300k tons (up 12% m-o-m), and the UAE, which imported 300k tons of Russian diesel (up 51% m-o-m) in March.

It’s not just diesel — India is expected to import more Russian crude following rare agreement: In efforts to further itself from the European market, Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer, said that it will use the Dubai price benchmark instead of Brent crude in a transaction with Indian Oil Corp, in a move set to double sales of Russian crude to the Indian company, sources told Reuters.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

SCZone gears up for Delhi roadshow in June: Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone)CEO Walid Gamal El Din met with India’s ambassador to Egypt, Ajit Gupte, yesterday to prepare for a roadshow in India in June, according to a statement. The visit will see a delegation from the SCZone head to Delhi as part of a series of roadshows to promote investments in the economic zone.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.