Kuwait's National Petroleum Services Company (Napesco) said it has signed an agreement with US-based Safe Ports Holdings to build the first stage of Safe Ports Regional Gateway, a major warehouse complex coming up on a sprawling 4-million-sq-m area near the town of Al Mafraq in Jordan.

The mega trans-shipment, distribution, warehousing and business facility will serve as a thriving hub for global businesses looking to seize on Middle East growth opportunities, stated Napesco.

A leading provider of upstream oilfield services including cementing, stimulation, coiled tubing, nitrogen and downhole service tools, Napesco today maintains a leading position within the Gulf region as an in-house provider of environmental monitoring and analytical laboratory services, consultancy services and waste management services.

Safe Ports Regional Gateway is a master-planned site in the Al Mafraq Special Economic Zone co-located with Jordan’s King Hussein Air Base, with access to a 9800-ft runway, air traffic control tower and host of airfield services.

Mafraq Development Corporation (MDC) of Jordan and the Jordanian Air Force (JAF) are partners in the creation of the Safe Ports Regional Gateway, a secure and economical inland port to begin operations in 2018 and grow in phases.

"We are delighted that Napesco has committed to help us to realise our vision of Safe Ports Regional Gateway becoming a world-class industrial, commercial and community development hub," remarked Duncan at the 2018 Jordan – US Investment Forum in New York City.

She was speaking after signing a major deal with Khaled Al Saif, the chairman and chief executive of Napesco.

"The company’s significant capital commitment – combined with its expertise in facility expansion and wide array of related services – makes Napesco an ideal partner in this project," she stated.

Al Saif said given its potential to connect overland routes with access to major regional ports and a mixed-use airport, Safe Ports Regional Gateway could become a leading location for industrial production and a transportation hub for movement of goods throughout the region.

“We look forward to beginning work immediately as the business opportunities and humanitarian needs before us are enormous,” he stated.

Utilising its unique crossroads location – with airfield, highway and free-trade access – Safe Ports Regional Gateway will enable businesses and NGOs of all types who choose to locate there to maximize their participation in the anticipated increase of trade in the region, and to fulfill humanitarian missions, he added.-TradeArabia News Service