SAL launches pharma facilities with 14,000T/year capacity at KFIA

June 27, 2020: The subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, Saudi Arabian Logistics (SAL) has launched the operations of its pharma facilities recently opened at the King Fahad International Airport’s Cargo Village in Dammam.

Before the expansion, the total area of the medical storage facilities stood at 118 square meters but after expansion, it reached 542 square meters with an operational capacity of 14,000 tonnes a year as follows: 262 square meters of the facilities are dedicated for storing goods with temperature ranging between 15-25 celsius whereas 262 square meters are used for storing goods with a temperature between 2-8 celsius. The facilities can also be used for storing different types of medical cargos with very low temperatures, below zero.

Omar Hariri, CEO, SAL said “We usher in a new phase of advanced cargo handling services for pharma and medical equipment. We are creating the proper environment and developing the infrastructure needed for the current period, which has seen an increasing demand for pharma and medical equipment cargos during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Saudi Arabian Logistics has bought temperature-controlling equipment and devices and installed efficient safety systems to prevent risks. All the equipment and devices meet the quality standards of the European Union Good Distribution Practice (EU GDP) for handling and storing medicinal products,” explained Hariri.

Saudi Arabian Logistics works to provide integrated logistics operations and ground handling services. It acts as a link between land and sea shipping and the Saudi airports in line with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, which is one of the pivotal themes of the Vision 2030, especially in the light of the gigantic economic transformation the Kingdom has been seeing. The company directly contributes to reinforcing and developing the infrastructure to act as platforms and warehouses for handling different types of cargo while enhancing the quality of cargo equipment and warehousing facilities related to international trade and electronic commerce.

The new warehouses will support the infrastructure of pharma and medical equipment handling facilities as per the international standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union Good Distribution Practice and Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). SAL said the facility expansion plan is being implemented as scheduled at selected sites within the Cargo Village at the Dammam Station.