Saudi Arabia and Oman Launch New Land Logistics Corridor Bypassing the UAE

Saudi Arabia's Spark and Oman's Arkan companies signed a strategic cooperation agreement on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 (21 Mordad 1405) to launch a land logistics corridor linking the two countries without passing through the United Arab Emirates. According to Khabar Online, citing ISNA and Arabi21, the agreement aims to boost transit traffic, improve supply chain efficiency and ease the movement of goods between the two states.

The corridor is built on the Empty Quarter (Rub al Khali) road, which Saudi Arabia and Oman officially opened on December 8, 2021, alongside two border crossings between the countries. The road runs about 725 kilometers in total, 161 kilometers inside Oman and 564 kilometers inside Saudi Arabia. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi section of the road was completed at a cost of about 1.908 billion Saudi riyals. Before the direct route opened, overland travel between the two countries typically passed through the UAE.