Bahrain ranks first globally in warehousing cost effectiveness

Manama, Bahrain – Testament to the success of region-wide economic diversification efforts, Middle Eastern cities performed impressively in the inaugural Transport and Warehousing Cities of the Future ranking, produced by fDi Intelligence – a specialist division of the Financial Times.

Middle Eastern economies’ strong performance in a sector traditionally dominated by the Asia-Pacific region comes in spite of global supply chain disruption owing to the pandemic.

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Al Hidd was ranked first globally in the Transport and Warehousing Cost Effectiveness category, which also saw both Egypt’s Port Said and Damietta as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi included in the top 10.

In this category a range of data points were examined such as the cost of construction permits, fuel prices, electricity prices, and tax rates amongst others. Bahrain is one of the region’s most cost-effective distribution hubs, fDi Intelligence said in a press release.

According to the KPMG Cost of Doing Business Report 2019, Bahrain offers up to 43 per cent operational costs savings, and 33 per cent savings in living costs when compared to the region, as well as, zero corporate and income tax and no free zone restrictions.

Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Eng Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed said, “Bahrain has long prided itself in offering the many global manufacturing and logistics players a place to call home with some of the most competitive setup and operating costs in the GCC. We are therefore delighted that Al Hidd City has been ranked so highly by fDi Intelligence for cost effectiveness in the transport and warehousing sectors – a testament to the kingdom’s reputation as the region’s de facto transport and logistics hub.”

“The year 2020 has been a challenging year for transport and logistics globally, but thanks to Bahrain’s strategic location at the nexus of the Middle East and our technologically streamlined customs processes, we have been able not just to maintain the continued flow of cross-border trade but enhance it, seeing a 13.5 per cent year-on-year surge of shipments into Khalifa Bin Salman port in the first nine months of 2020. In 2021, we look forward to building on the successes of 2020, and welcoming many more global transport and logistics players,” he said.