In the presence of the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, JD.com and the Saudi Industrial City and Technology Zone Authority (MODON) signed a strategic cooperation memorandum in 2025, marking the upgrade of the two parties from a single project cooperation to a national, long-term strategic partnership. The first landing project of this cooperation, the Jeddah Smart Logistics Hub, will serve as JD's first green space development project in Saudi Arabia, opening the curtain for building an intelligent logistics backbone network for the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Central and Northeast Africa region.

Full chain cooperation from Jeddah's first station to the national network

The first logistics infrastructure project of this cooperation is located in Jeddah, the largest port city in Saudi Arabia, within the Oasis Industrial Park in the north of Jeddah. This project is not only JD's first green space development project in Saudi Arabia, but also the substantive beginning of establishing a long-term strategic partnership between the two parties. According to the agreement, both parties will jointly evaluate, plan, and implement industrial and logistics infrastructure development projects within MODON's jurisdiction, including researching the establishment of a real estate investment fund focused on industrial and logistics asset development. With MODON's resource integration capabilities covering 39 industrial cities in Saudi Arabia, JD.com will accelerate its expansion in core industrial cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, with plans to develop over 2 million square meters of industrial and logistics assets in Saudi Arabia in the future.

Strategic layout of geometric centers in the three major cities

The Jeddah project is located in the geometric center of the three major cities of Jeddah, Mecca, and King Abdullah Economic City. With the northward shift of Jeddah's urban development center and the gathering of surrounding manufacturing factories, the demand for high standard warehousing in the region continues to rise. The project is only a 28 minute drive from Jeddah International Airport and is adjacent to multiple high-speed highways, which will effectively alleviate the shortage of modern storage in the region. After the completion of the project, it will provide high standard warehousing services for local industries such as light industry, e-commerce, automotive, food, and pharmaceuticals, further strengthening the logistics service capabilities of the entire Gulf Cooperation Council and the wider Central and Northeast Africa region.

Full cycle practice of BREEAM Excellence Standard

JD Production and Development will always integrate the concept of green and low-carbon throughout the entire project lifecycle, with BREEAM excellence level as the highest construction standard, and fully introduce intelligent automated warehousing systems and digital operation technology. This project can flexibly carry out customized development of BTS according to customer needs, fully demonstrating the core advantages of Chinese enterprises in intelligent logistics park planning, digital supply chain management, and green low-carbon technology application. At present, JD.com has landed and reserved 4 projects in the Middle East. Through more high standard warehouses and providing high standard services, JD.com is actively promoting the upgrading of the local supply chain system. This not only meets the explosive growth demand of local and cross-border e-commerce, but also greatly reduces the logistics costs and operational risks for Chinese enterprises entering the Middle East market. Editor/Yang Beihua