The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) signed agreements for a strategic partnership with the Saudi Post Corporation on Wednesday, October 18, 2017. The partnership, which will continue for 25 years, aims to transfer the central distribution centers of the Saudi Post to the Kingdom’s three major airports, where new centers will be built as per the top international technologies.

 
Attending the signing ceremony at the GACA headquarters in Riyadh were: His Excellency the Minister of Transport Dr. Nabil bin Mohammed Al Amoudi, His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al Swaha, His Excellency the President of General Authority of Civil Aviation Mr. Abdul Hakim bin Mohammed Al Tamimi, and His Excellency the President of Saudi Post Eng. Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Abdul Jabbar.
 
The agreements include the allocation of areas dedicated to the Saudi Post inside the air cargo villages of three international airports: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. As per the agreement, postal operations will be moved to these three prime areas, where buildings will be constructed for finalizing customs clearance procedures in the express transport areas of air cargo villages. In this context, each airport will feature a total area of 5,000 square meters dedicated to the distinguished Saudi Post.
 
This is in addition to the establishment of new centers for handling and distribution at the logistics support area of each of the three international airports on a total area of around 30,000 square meters per airport. The new centers will provide a quantum leap for the postal industry in terms of time saving, and for the growth of e-commerce with its different forms and customer types as well. The centers will also help link to various transportation methods, both existing and impending (such as trains and others); in turn facilitating the speeding up of the customs clearance processes, increasing the capacities of trade shipping and logistics support at the national level, and raising the quality levels of import/export services.
 
His Excellency, Mr. Abdul Hakim bin Mohammed Al Tamimi, President of General Authority of Civil Aviation, stressed that this strategic partnership with the Saudi Post Corporation comes as an extension of the authority’s objectives to increase its capacity and raise the level of high quality services offered at airports in line with Vision 2030. Through this agreement, major logistics areas have been identified for the transfer of Saudi Post operations to air cargo villages at the three aforementioned international airports, in addition to the Rabigh Airport: the central logistics airport near King Abdullah Economic City.
 
He noted that the agreement promotes the rise of economic activity, which would in turn benefit the national economy and contribute to increase investments and upgrade the quality of services offered at the Kingdom’s airports.
 
Al Tamimi also explained that the General Authority of Civil Aviation is currently working on a clear start for shipping and logistics, with the most important element being the creation of capacities and infrastructure for shipping. This is in addition to contributing alongside different government entities in order to facilitate import/export processes at airports; consequently developing air traffic and improving services. He stressed on the existence of many upcoming investment opportunities for investors in the field of shipping and logistics.
 
For his part, His Excellency the President of the Saudi Post, Eng. Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Abdul Jabbar praised the cooperation of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and its support for the quantum leap of the country’s postal services. He stressed on the deep relationship between both entities, which enables the Saudi Post to deal quickly and effectively with its dispatches and correspondence of both local and international mail.
 
“The Saudi Post Corporation has achieved a remarkable transformation in its services, as well as great diversity over the last few years. This is first and foremost thanks to God, followed by the endless support the corporation received from the wise leadership; who have powerfully contributed to the advancement of the nation and the service of its citizens, residents and visitors, such as pilgrims for Umrah or Hajj. This is in light of their efforts in following the latest postal systems in the world,” he stated...
 
He added, “The agreement with the General Authority of Civil Aviation is a tangible addition to the Saudi Post on its way towards upgrading its services to unprecedented levels, in addition to continuing its plans to become one of the best postal institutions in the world. This will be done through the areas set to be dedicated to the Saudi Post at the Kingdom’s three major airports.”
 
Al Abdul Jabbar continued, noting, “This will maximize the corporation’s abilities to expand the base of mail handling and its consequent international receipt and exchange procedures, such as customs examination and clearance, deposits and re-exports, and other major processes in the postal industry.”
 
“This is in addition to facing international changes at the same pace as e-commerce, not to mention improving performance, increasing processing speed, reducing the operational costs of the corporation, and maximizing the return on investments in the coming period,” he said in conclusion.
 
The General Authority of Civil Aviation has designed cargo villages and the logistics airport in order to utilize several modes of transport linked to air, main roads, marine ports, and railways. These areas are categorized, with each one dedicated to a different shipping and logistics process; such as air freight, express transport, customs clearance, freight forwarding, logistics support, packaging and re-stamping, and deposits and re-exports(similar to free zones), in addition to other areas dedicated to different activities. The air cargo villages at the three international airports offer complete logistics solutions for finalizing import/export processes and distributing in one location with high efficiency, as well as the ease of distribution movement from airports into their cities. The authority works on attracting investments and privatizing airports in order to turn them into commercial investment bases. It has signed long-term agreements for investments in all the dedicated areas at the air cargo villages with local, regional and international companies specialized in different fields in order to apply the best standards, and attract and increase the Kingdom’s global investments.