Saudi Arabia plans second national airline in move away from oil
Crown Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 strategy aims to turn world’s second-biggest exporter into a logistics hub
30 June 2021 - 17:46
byAgency Staff
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Cairo — Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced plans to launch a second national airline as part of a broader strategy to turn the kingdom into a global logistics hub as it seeks to diversify from oil.
The creation of another flag carrier would catapult Saudi Arabia into fifth place in terms of air transit traffic, official state media reported on Tuesday, without giving details on when and how the airline would be created.
Prince Mohammed has been spearheading a push for Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and the largest country in the Gulf geographically, to boost non-oil revenues to about 45bn riyals by 2030.
Making the kingdom a global logistics hub, which includes the development of ports, rail and road networks, would increase the transport and logistics sector’s contribution to GDP to 10% from 6%, state news agency SPA said.
“The comprehensive strategy aims to position Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub connecting the three continents,” Prince Mohammed was quoted as saying. “This will help other sectors like tourism, Hajj and Umrah to achieve their national targets.”
The addition of another airline would increase the number of international destinations from Saudi Arabia to more than 250 and double air cargo capacity to more than 4.5m tonnes, SPA said.
With flag bearer Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the kingdom has one of the smallest airline networks in the region relative to its size. Saudia has struggled with losses for years and like global peers, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media reported earlier this year that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, planned to build a new airport in Riyadh as part of the new airline launch, without giving further details.
The fund is the main vehicle for boosting Saudi Arabian investments at home and abroad as the prince, known in the West as MbS, seeks to diversify the kingdom’s oil-heavy economy through his Vision 2030 strategy.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Saudi Arabia plans second national airline in move away from oil
Crown Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 strategy aims to turn world’s second-biggest exporter into a logistics hub
Cairo — Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced plans to launch a second national airline as part of a broader strategy to turn the kingdom into a global logistics hub as it seeks to diversify from oil.
The creation of another flag carrier would catapult Saudi Arabia into fifth place in terms of air transit traffic, official state media reported on Tuesday, without giving details on when and how the airline would be created.
Prince Mohammed has been spearheading a push for Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and the largest country in the Gulf geographically, to boost non-oil revenues to about 45bn riyals by 2030.
Making the kingdom a global logistics hub, which includes the development of ports, rail and road networks, would increase the transport and logistics sector’s contribution to GDP to 10% from 6%, state news agency SPA said.
“The comprehensive strategy aims to position Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub connecting the three continents,” Prince Mohammed was quoted as saying. “This will help other sectors like tourism, Hajj and Umrah to achieve their national targets.”
The addition of another airline would increase the number of international destinations from Saudi Arabia to more than 250 and double air cargo capacity to more than 4.5m tonnes, SPA said.
With flag bearer Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the kingdom has one of the smallest airline networks in the region relative to its size. Saudia has struggled with losses for years and like global peers, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media reported earlier this year that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, planned to build a new airport in Riyadh as part of the new airline launch, without giving further details.
The fund is the main vehicle for boosting Saudi Arabian investments at home and abroad as the prince, known in the West as MbS, seeks to diversify the kingdom’s oil-heavy economy through his Vision 2030 strategy.
Reuters
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