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Tier 3 · Riyadh

Special Integrated Logistics Zone

Riyadh · Est. 2022 · Special Integrated Logistics Zone Company (SILZ)

high confidenceVerified 18 Jul 2026official ↗
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Best for

Regional distribution centres, 3PLs, e-commerce fulfilment operators and light manufacturers (ICT, pharma, aerospace, luxury) that re-export through the Gulf and want bonded air-cargo access to the Saudi market with a 50-year tax holiday.

Not ideal for

Startups and SMEs looking for flexi desks, incubators or transparent package pricing; businesses that primarily sell into the Saudi domestic market; and any activity outside the zone\u2019s five permitted logistics-centric groups.

01Capability profile

Six independent dimensions, scored from official zone data.

?
Banking10/15
?
Visa scale15/15
?
Cost (lower=better)10/20
?
Activity breadth8/25
?
Workspace options9/15
?
Location6/10
02Where SILZ sits

Tick marks for every zone, SILZ highlighted. The shape of the field, not just the rank.

Year 1 cost← lower is better

Licence + registration, AED.

Setup time← lower is better

SILZ: 13th percentile (20 days) · Total estimated days from application to operational.

Visa caphigher is better →

SILZ: 83th percentile (200 visas) · Absolute maximum visa allocation. Values above 500 clipped to the right edge so the bulk of the distribution stays readable.

Banking ease← better
Easy
4
Moderate
73
Difficult
15
Very difficult
1

SILZ: Moderate · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.

03Costs

Year-one license, renewals, and 5-year totals in AED.

—
Year 1 minimum · AED
budget tier
Show in
2-year visa cost
AED 3,200
Hidden & one-off costs
Dependent / spouse visa
AED 2,500
Year-on-year fee tracking begins 2026 — changes appear here as they accrue.
Indicative, from published ratesOfficial fee schedule ↗Verified 2026-07high confidence

Notify me if fees change — get an email if SILZ updates its licence or setup costs.

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04Visas & workspace

Visa caps, workspace options, and family-sponsorship rules.

Visa allocation
Maximum visas
200
Flexi-desk cap
2
Office cap
6
Family sponsorship
Available
Freelancer permit
Not available
Golden visa
Not available
Green visa
Not available
Medical required
Yes
Processing time
~5 days
Workspace options
Virtual office
No
Flexi-desk
No
Coworking
No
Dedicated office
Yes
Warehouse
Yes
Industrial unit
Yes
Land plot
Yes
Ejari issued
No
Parking
Yes
05Banking & setup

Banking difficulty, partner banks, and setup timeline.

Banking
Difficulty
Moderate
Time to account
~10 days
Minimum deposit
AED 25,000
Corp tax rate
0%
Audit cost (est)
AED 15,000
UBO filing
Required
AML / KYC
standard
Partner banks
Saudi National Bank (SNB)Al Rajhi BankRiyad BankSaudi Awwal Bank (SAB)
Neo-bank options
No zone-linked digital bank; Saudi digital banks (STC Bank, D360) are retail-focused — corporate banking remains with traditional SAMA-licensed banks
Setup timeline
  1. Registration mode
    Fully online — no in-person visit required
  2. Documents & application
    Passport, visa, business plan — ~3–5 days
  3. Licence issued
    ~5 business days after submission
  4. Bank account active
    Additional ~10 days · Moderate banking
  5. Operational
    Typically ~20 days, up to ~50 days
06Permitted activities

Activity categories, restrictions, and approval flags.

5 — five broad permitted activity groups set by the SILZ Regulation and ZATCA Guideline (previous value '25' unverified) activities

Bonded-corridor re-export operations to/from KKIA Cargo Village (8 km)

Rapid certification of goods for export

E-commerce fulfilment (CJ Logistics operates iHerb regional fulfilment centre, live 2025)

Advanced tech manufacturing (Lenovo/Alat 200,000 sqm plant, production from 2026)

Regional distribution hubs for luxury goods (Chalhoub Group 40,000 sqm)

Categories
Light manufacturing & repair (maintaining, repairing, processing, modifying, developing, assembling, storing goods)Trade & distribution (sorting, packing, repacking, packaging, distributing, handling; simple manufacturing)Import, export & re-exportLogistics & value-added services, incl. after-sales servicesRecycling of waste and electronic waste
Matched industry clusters
industriallogistics
Restricted
Any activity outside the five permitted groupsDirect retail/domestic sales into the Saudi mainland (goods entering the mainland are treated as imports subject to duty + 15% VAT)Financial services, education, healthcare etc. — not within zone scope
07Jurisdiction & ecosystem

Legal framework, tax status, audit requirements, and zone focus — every value sourced.

Common lawNo
VAT designated zoneNo
QFZP eligible (0% tax)No
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Mainland permitNo
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Audit requiredNo
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Economic substancestandard
Inferred · 2026-07-18

This zone offers physical-office options sufficient for a standard QFZP substance posture, though the bar still applies at the entity level (CTGFZP1).

Focus: Integrated logistics & 3PL, E-commerce fulfilment & distribution, Light manufacturing & assembly, ICT / consumer electronics, Pharma & medical supplies, Aerospace, Luxury goods & consumer commerce, Recycling

not officially published — ~10-15 named anchor tenants (Apple, Unipart, DHL Supply Chain, Lenovo/Alat, Chalhoub Group, SHEIN, iHerb/CJ Logistics, Bahri, Sapphire); ~55% of Phase 1 pre-booked as of Nov 2025 companiessmall — anchor-tenant model with ~10-15 named companies; not an SME community zone communityIncubator: No
Notable companies

Apple — first major investor, announced at Oct 2022 launch (regional distribution), Unipart Logistics — first operating tenant (Aug 2022, official SILZ timeline), DHL Supply Chain — anchor logistics tenant, EUR 130M / SAR 561.5M hub, 26-year land lease (Nov 2025), Lenovo — 200,000 sqm manufacturing plant with PIF company Alat, production from 2026, Chalhoub Group — 40,000 sqm luxury logistics hub, SHEIN, iHerb (fulfilment operated by CJ Logistics, live 2025), CJ Logistics, Bahri Logistics, Sapphire

QFZP, audit, mainland-permit and substance values are sourced where the zone authority or FTA publishes them, and inferred from published zone characteristics otherwise. How we determine these values.

08Strengths & limitations

5 strengths · 3 caveats.

Strengths
  • 0% corporate income tax for 50 years plus 0% withholding tax on payments to non-residents during the holiday (ZATCA SILZ Guideline, Dec 2023)
  • VAT and customs duty fully suspended while goods stay in the zone; re-exports leave as duty/VAT-free exports — a genuine bonded re-export hub
  • 100% foreign ownership, no minimum share capital, unrestricted capital repatriation, flexible Saudization treatment
  • Air-cargo anchored: 8 km bonded corridor to King Khalid International Airport Cargo Village, inside the GCC’s largest consumer market
  • Blue-chip validation: Apple first investor; Lenovo, DHL Supply Chain (EUR 130M), SHEIN, iHerb/CJ Logistics, Chalhoub, Bahri committed
Caveats
  • No published pricing: license, land and warehouse rates are quote-only via SILZ Company, and the model suits large operators rather than SMEs
  • No direct mainland sales — goods released into Saudi Arabia incur customs duty plus 15% VAT at the gate, weakening the case for domestic-market sellers (a key reason many firms still choose mainland MISA setups)
  • Still maturing: Phase 1 completes only in Q1 2027, Phase 2 runs to 2029, and permitted activities are confined to five logistics-centric groups

Not ideal for: Startups and SMEs looking for flexi desks, incubators or transparent package pricing; businesses that primarily sell into the Saudi domestic market; and any activity outside the zone\u2019s five permitted logistics-centric groups.

09Tax considerations

2 tax questions relevant to this zone.

Questions to raise with your tax advisor

  1. Will you need audited accounts even if this zone doesn't require them?

    FTA corporate-tax filing typically expects audited accounts for revenue above AED 50M, and banks often request them at much lower thresholds.

  2. Do any of your customers, suppliers, or shareholders meet the FTA's related-party definition?

    Related-party transactions need transfer-pricing documentation and may push otherwise-qualifying income into the 9% bracket.

These prompts are due-diligence questions, not tax advice. Confirm every answer with a UAE-licensed tax advisor before incorporating.

10Similar zones in Riyadh

1 comparable zones in the same emirate.

11About this data

Last verified 2026-07-18 · high confidence.

SILZ data is sourced from official zone authority publications, government fee schedules, and where available, verified against direct communications with the zone. All figures in AED.

Location
Riyadh
Established
2022
Authority
Special Integrated Logistics Zone Company (SILZ)
Last verified
2026-07-18
Confidence
high
Methodology
How we score →
Cited source
Fee data sourced from the official fee schedule, fetched 2026-07-18. View source ↗
Per-field citations
How we verify every zone →
12Founder reviews

What founders who've registered here say.

4.5★25 reviewsGoogle

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13Take the next step

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