The planning of the Dammam 2nd Logistics Area begins with an understanding that logistics infrastructure must respond as much to physical and environmental constraints as to operational demand. The site selected for the new logistics platform lies on the edge of the industrial city. It is a roughly 1.0 km² parcel allocated as a cargo train handling area and container yard, mostly rectangular, bounded by three main roads and a future rail corridor, with formal access from the western estate road. But the reality on the ground is more complicated. Almost 70% of the surface is occupied by ponds currently used for stormwater storage and as a discharge point for desalination effluent. The groundwater table is high, and the ground levels vary between about 6 and 12 metres above sea level, with some edges sitting lower than adjacent roads and requiring protection.
Engicon was commissioned by MODON to turn this constrained, water-dominated parcel into a functioning logistics zone. Working over approximately six months from November 2023 to May 2024, Engicon’s engineers led the master planning and infrastructure design, with Dorsch, an international German engineering firm, as associated consultant.
The assignment covered the full design cycle: developing master plan options, preparing the final master plan and landscape design, and coordinating detailed infrastructure design and IFT/IFC documentation for roads, potable water, sewer, stormwater, irrigation, electrical and telecom networks, supported by site assessment, surveys, hydrology and traffic studies, and tender documents.
The work started with evaluating the site’s physical reality, rather than assuming a blank canvas. Engicon’s ground team documented how the ponds currently function as a single discharge basin, the confirmed role of the plot as a desalination water outfall, and the implications of a high water table for future earthworks and foundations.
They mapped level differences and identified where the platform sits lower than surrounding roads, noting where embankments and drainage would have to be reshaped. At the same time, they confirmed the external access framework: Street 0, Street 166, and Street 23 form three sides of the parcel, with primary access through Street 23, and a reserved area of around 150,000 m² was set aside for rail access in coordination with the Saudi Railway Company (SAR).
On this basis, Engicon set a development framework that recognised both the strengths and the constraints of the location. The logistics area could directly serve existing tenants and adjacent plots and offer room for bonded facilities within a city that had run short on storage. At the same time, the design had to respect the existing stormwater function, environmental value of the ponds, regulatory interfaces on the eastern boundary, and the fact that current access is dominated by the western edge.
Within that framework, the master plan organizes the site into a bonded and non-bonded logistics platform structured around rail, road, and yard operations. In simple terms, the program brings together:
- A customs inspection and container staging yard for import and export flows
- Bonded warehouses and open bonded yards for customs-controlled storage
- Non-bonded warehouses and yards for domestic distribution and value-added services
- Support facilities including management, utilities, and services areas
Land-use diagrams distinguish between different warehouse types (dry, cold, mono-user, multi-user) and the operational roles of customs, stacking, and distribution areas. This structure is designed so that a future operator can handle import and export flows, inspections, and domestic logistics within a single platform, rather than dispersing them across multiple sites.
The planning assumptions behind the layout are grounded in quantified container movements. By 2030, the platform is planned to handle on the order of 275,000 TEU per year, around 192,000 TEU of imports and 83,666 TEU of exports, based on 16 working hours per day. From these flows, the team derived realistic inspection ratios and daily inspection demand, arriving at a requirement for 22 inspection ramps, split between import and export operations, with additional capacity reserved for peak periods. Rather than designing from abstract rules of thumb, Engicon sized customs and staging areas to match these calculated needs so that trucks, containers, and inspections can be accommodated without creating internal bottlenecks.
Infrastructure design ties the new program back to the site’s hydrology and existing networks. The master plan integrates a revised stormwater concept to replace the current ad-hoc pond system, defining a new discharge channel and collection point for runoff from the logistics area and parts of the surrounding city. Road levels are coordinated with this drainage strategy and with embankment requirements along edges where the site sits lower than adjacent streets. Utilities are consolidated in a dedicated zone that includes a primary substation and GSM tower, so that power, water, fire protection, and communications can be extended logically as the platform develops.
Landscape itself is given a supportive role in this operational environment, not just a scenic layer. The landscape strategy emphasises native and adaptive species, efficient irrigation, and planting along sidewalks and key edges to buffer operations and provide shade in a hot desert climate. The aim is to improve comfort and legibility for drivers, staff, and visitors without imposing high maintenance costs on a site whose primary purpose is moving and storing cargo.
In the end, the logistics area at Dammam 2nd Industrial City is less about drawing a new outline on the map and more about re-using a difficult parcel inside a saturated estate. On land that currently serves as a stormwater basin and discharge point, Engicon has prepared a buildable master plan for a rail-enabled dry port and logistics platform, aligning container flows, customs requirements, and tenant demand with the realities of groundwater, access, and utilities. For the client, it offers a clear, phased framework that can move from concept to IFC and construction. For Engicon, it is another demonstration of how careful master planning can unlock capacity inside existing industrial fabric, using surveys, data, and coordinated design rather than expanding the city’s footprint.
