Ceva Logistics Launches New Base in Bahrain

Ceva Logistics, a unit of French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM, has expanded its footprint in the Middle East after launching a base in Bahrain.

A new office in capital city Manama would offer a full range of air, ocean, ground and contract logistics services, spurring growth in key industries and regional markets, Ceva said in a filing.

The Marseille-headquartered company, whose revenues in the Middle East grew by 30 percent last year, already has a direct regional presence with offices in the UAE, Qatar and Oman.

Axel Herzhauser, regional managing director for Middle East and Africa at Ceva, told Breakbulk the company was ready to take on projects “across the spectrum”.

“Bahrain’s aspirations to be a globally competitive economy will certainly provide opportunities for us to use our logistics capabilities to support economic growth.”

Economic activity in Bahrain, the smallest nation in the Gulf Cooperation Council with a population of just 1.5 million, of which half are expats, is driven by crude oil, which accounts for about 70 percent of government revenues.

A huge offshore oilfield discovered in early 2018 off the west coast at Khalij Al-Bahrain could provide project logistics with a long-term source of cargo-carrying contracts. The reservoir holds an estimated 80 billion barrels of shale oil, dwarfing Bahrain’s current proven reserves of just 125 million barrels.

Drilling for the first production wells at Khalij Al-Bahrain was expected to start at the end of 2022, the government said last year.

The island state, whose economy is expected to expand 3.3 percent this year and 2.9 percent in 2023, also unveiled late last year a US$30 billion strategic projects plan to beef up infrastructure, create jobs and boost economic growth.

The plans call for the construction of more than 20 major projects, including the Bahrain Metro, a 109-kilometer fully-automated urban transit system, and the 25-kilometre, four-lane King Hamad Causeway linking Bahrain with Saudi Arabia.

“With the projects planned already in Bahrain, the opportunities around infrastructure are certainly noteworthy,” Herzhauser said.

Parent company CMA CGM will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Middle East 2022, taking place on 27-29 September at the George R. Brown Convention Centre in Houston, Texas.

PHOTOS: Ceva Logistics’ projects in the Middle East. CREDIT: Ceva Logistics