Logistics performance index places Kuwait at bottom of GCC countries

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Logistical cities essential part of logistical supply chain: Al-Mulla

KUWAIT CITY, July 14: The Director General of the Kuwait Ports Authority Eng Issa Al-Mulla, said according to the logistics performance index issued by the World Bank, Kuwait has dived to the last place at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, reports Al-Qabas daily. In a report he referred to the Council of Ministers on the Ports Corporation’s visions and proposals regarding strengthening the food security system in the State of Kuwait, Al-Mulla stressed that the logistical cities are an essential part of the logistical supply chain that links all commodity flows to the country, the most important of which is the sea, which controls 90 percent of the value of merchandise exports and imports.

Al-Mulla added the actual need for logistics cities, and in order for the State of Kuwait to be a financial and global center, an infrastructure must be built that provides all national and international companies with information about storage centers, pointing out that the KPA had previously asked the Kuwait Municipality to allocate 300,000 square meters land south of Doha Port based on a Cabinet decision in 2004, to establish a logistics zone included in the projects of the state’s development plan (New Kuwait 2035).

Tenders He added that the project was proposed within the plan of the KPA for tenders to be fl oated for fiscal 2020-2021 that was announced in the Official Gazette on July 19, 2020 based on the provisions of Law No. 49 of 2016 regarding public tenders, and the provisions of the executive regulations of the law issued by Decree No. 30 of 2016/2017, to provide advisory services for the study and design of storage areas affiliated with the KPA and the establishment of logistic cities.

He explained that this land is among four areas that the KPA intends to transform into logistics cities, simulating the actual reality experienced by the world with the development of remote trade and e-commerce, pointing to what the State of Kuwait and some other countries faced in terms of the scarcity of logistics services that support the national economy and attract foreign investment especially since these logistics cities are among the most important projects of the Ports Authority included in the development plan and one of the most important national projects for the State of Kuwait.

He stressed that the application of logistics in the field of business as a concept based on managing the flow and storage of goods, services and information efficiently and effectively from the stage of raw material to the stage of final consumption, in order to achieve an increase in the integrated logistics system and the speed of product delivery, especially that the logistics system includes many activities. Perhaps the most important characteristic of managing these activities in the logistical framework is the necessity of coordination and integration between these activities, with the aim of providing products and customer services at the right time and place and in the desired condition and form, which leads to supporting the competitive position of various companies, their production and performance.

Competitiveness
Al-Mulla said that the efficiency of logistics is of great importance to competitiveness, growth and development, and the performance of logistics affects productivity in all economic sectors, and can form a fundamental basis for development. Al Mulla explained that the Logistics Performance Index, which was developed by the World Bank as a reference global measurement tool, periodically measures the efficiency of logistics around the world, with the aim of shedding light on the development of the competitive environment for business, and is of great importance, given that it has become the approved tool for judging countries, according to this indicator we will find that Kuwait fell to the last place at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries according to the World Bank report.

Al-Mulla stressed that logistic cities are an essential part of the logistical supply chain that links all commodity flows (incoming and outgoing) to the State of Kuwait and regulates them with all land and air ports, the most important of which are marine, which controls 90% of the value of commodity exports and imports into Kuwait. He said that Kuwait is an importer of these commodities, including foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and other consumables (cars, equipment, building materials, construction and infrastructure), and therefore there should be a strategic stockpile that covers the country’s requirements in the event of any crises or natural or epidemic calamities, as happened during the Corona pandemic, as the committees of the Council of Ministers related to the pandemic and the Supreme Committee for Food Security decided to secure basic food commodities for the country, so some stores have been used by the KPA to secure the country’s strategic stock of goods and foodstuffs at the present time.

Diversifying
Eng Issa Al Mulla said in implementation of the government’s directions to work on diversifying sources of income, the KPA is working hard on diversifying sources of income and away from dependence on oil as the only and primary source of the national economy, and from this premise came the interest in establishing and developing logistic areas. Al-Mulla stressed that the proposal to establish logistic zones is one of the most important views and proposals of the KPA presented by it regarding securing, strengthening and developing the food and water security system in the State of Kuwait.

He wished to instruct the municipality to quickly decide on the allocation of the square located in the south of Doha Port, with an area of 300,000 square meters, issued by the Council of Ministers’ decision to establish a logistic area to secure, strengthen and develop the food and water security system. in the State of Kuwait. He pointed out that the actual need for logistics cities has become an indispensable reality at the present time, with keeping pace with technology and its use in various types of logistics, starting with the use of artificial intelligence, until we keep pace with this expansion by those international companies, and until the State of Kuwait becomes a financial and global center we must provide these requirements by building an infrastructure that provides all national and international companies with information storage centers.

This news has been read 14102 times!