National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has signed an agreement with the international Group Bolloré, to establish a new logistics joint venture between the company and Bolloré Logistics.

France-based Bolloré Logistics is one of the largest transport and logistics companies in the world.

This new cooperation will serve the needs of customers in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. The agreement marks another step of Bahri’s and Bolloré Logistics’ expansion into the fast-growing logistics and supply chain management market within the GCC, said a statement from the company.

To be headquartered in Riyadh, the joint venture will leverage Bolloré’s global reach and logistics platform, along with Bahri’s local logistics expertise, wide customer base, strong maritime expertise, and its fleet of state-of-the-art multi-purpose vessels, it said.

Bahri will be the majority stakeholder with a 60 per cent stake in the joint venture, which will operate under the name ‘Bahri Bolloré Logistics’, while Bolloré will own the remaining 40 per cent, said a statement.

Ali Al Harbi, acting CEO of Bahri, said: “Bolloré’s global capabilities in logistics and supply chain management, coupled with our regional knowledge and depth of expertise in transportation and logistics services, will help unlock synergies and operational efficiencies powerful enough to propel the new venture toward becoming a logistics partner of choice for companies around the region,” he said.

Al Harbi continued: “For Bahri, the foray into supply chain and logistics is a natural extension of our business, as it continues our journey from being a leader in transportation of goods port-to-port, to the delivery of goods gate-to-gate.”

Philippe Lortal, CEO of Bolloré Logistics Middle East – South Asia, said: “This collaboration will intensify our development in the Middle East, which is definitely a key region for our organisation, mainly because of its strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe,” he said.

“The strength of our partnership with Bahri will allow us to guarantee a high quality of service to our Saudi Arabian and global customers,” concluded.

The logistics market in the GCC is worth SR176.3 billion ($47 billion), with Saudi Arabia, with a market size of SR71.3 billion ($19 billion), representing 43 per cent of the combined regional market, according to a report by Solidiance.

One of the fastest growing countries in the logistics and warehousing industry globally, Saudi Arabia is positioned as the primary entry point for goods in the GCC market, and the kingdom’s logistics industry has been growing at an average rate of around 6 per cent per year, it stated.