SAUDI ARABIA — National Grain Co., a joint venture between the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC) and Bahri, has signed an agreement to build a grains terminal in Yanbu Commercial Port in Saudi Arabia.
Riyad, Saudi Arabia based HAIF Trading & Construction has been enlisted to build the grain terminal.
The National Grain joint venture was meant to kick off back in 2020 but was delayed due to the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the pandemic now largely under control and restrictions eased, the US$110m project is expected to continue in earnest.
The proposed terminal extends over an area of 313,000m2 and will have a production capacity lying in the range of 3 to 5 million tons annually.
Under the terms of the agreement, the first phase of the project will include the construction of a new grains terminal with a storage capacity of 156,000 tonnes.
The terminal is expected to accommodate 12 silos with a total capacity of 96,000 tonnes and a flat warehouse with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes.
The terminal also will include a 650-meter conveyor belt, unloading equipment with 800 tonnes per hour of discharge capacity, and a dedicated area for loading trucks and packaging.
According to Bahri, the terminal will be designed to handle, store and distribute up to 3 million tonnes of grains annually, including barley, corn and soybeans.
Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, the minister of environment, water and agriculture and chairman of SALIC, said the grains terminal will be the first regional center for grains in the commercial port of Yanbu.
It is expected that the new terminal will help accelerate the origination and discharge of grains to Saudi Arabia and enhance supply chain capabilities.
SALIC was formed in 2011 to secure food supplies for Saudi Arabia through mass production and investments. The National Grains Co. was formed in August 2020 to contribute to achieving a food security strategy.
According to Bahri, a terminal operator will be selected in the first half of 2022 to allow work to proceed with a view to having a pilot production project towards the end of next year.
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