Riyadh: CJ Logistics Corp., South Korea's leading logistics company, said Thursday it has begun operations at a distribution center in Saudi Arabia as part of a broader strategy to expand its presence in the Middle East.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company held a launch ceremony for the Global Distribution Center (GDC) at Riyadh's Special Integrated Logistics Zone. The facility, completed last year, has a daily handling capacity of more than 20,000 parcels.

CJ Logistics invested 60 billion won (US$41.4 million) in the project in partnership with the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation in 2023 to establish a logistics hub serving nearby regions, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait.

The company said the Saudi GDC is based on its logistics model first introduced in South Korea in 2019. The model was later expanded into an Asia-Pacific version aimed at reducing delivery times and costs, in collaboration with iHerb, a major online retailer of health and wellness products.

CJ Logistics added that it has also applied its advanced logistics technologies to the Saudi facility, including automated guided vehicles.

"The establishment of the Saudi GDC builds on the trust developed through long-standing cooperative relationships and operational achievements with our global clients," a company official said. "We will operate the Saudi GDC as a strategic hub connecting the Middle East region to further enhance the quality of our cross-border logistics services."