With nearly SR126 billion ($33.6 billion) invested by companies in both phases 1 and 2 of Yanbu Industrial City, the enclave is reasserting its status as a world centre for the transshipment of crude oil and the manufacture and export of hydrocarbon and petrochemical products.

Yanbu plays a major role in the industrial development of the region around it which in turn makes a great contribution to boosting the Saudi economy,” the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu said.

Yanbu Phase 1 has 85 companies in operation including 14 primary industries, 19 secondary industries and 52 light industries. There are 44 other companies that are under construction or in the design or proposal stage.

In Yanbu-2 companies that have registered number 15 and only six have begun operations including Saudi Aramco’s lube oil refinery; Cristal, which makes titanium dioxide; Al Yamamah Steel, producer of steel billets and bars, and Al Hamrani Fuchs, manufacturer of lubricants.

Two major companies that are in the process of setting up operations in Yanbu-2 are the Idea project, which will produce solar-grade polysilicon at an investment of SR2.8 billion,  and Alatoun steel factory, which will produce steel billets and bars with a total investment of SR1.3 billion.

Total investments of all companies operating in Yanbu-2 are SR4 billion. In the near future, Yanbu -2 will attract more than SR20 billion including projects in all stages – in operation, proposed, under design and under construction, the Royal Commission says.

The Royal Commission at Yanbu has initiated a multi-billion-dollar Phase-2 infrastructure development in industrial and community areas to make it more attractive and useful to industrial investors and to the people who will be living within its precincts.

Yanbu-1 investments
Investments by companies operating or under construction in Yanbu-1 amount to SR121.60 billion. The primary industries there produce 412,0000 barrels per day of petroleum-based products and 22.077 million tonnes of petrochemicals-related products. The secondary industries produce 1.02 million tonnes of petrochemical-related products, 297,000 tonnes of chemicals-related products and 1.12 million tonnes of various products annually. Light industrial facilities account for 2.5 million concrete blocks and 6.9 million tonnes of various other products. Included in this sector are  annual production of 84,000 cylinders of industrial and medical gases, 600,000 cu m of wood wool, 300,000 cu m of reinforced paneling, 45.3 million plastic bottles for lube oils, 1.3 million cu m of ready-mix concrete and 6 million sq m of plaster  board.

The Cristal plant in Yanbu-2

Several Yanbu-1 companies are currently expanding their facilities including one industry in the primary sector with a capital investment of SR37.50 billion, five in the secondary sector with a total capital investment of SR4.029 billion and 28 in the light sector with a total capital investment of SR1.48 billion.

The Royal Commission is happy that desert land in Yanbu was developed to form a world-class industrial hub. Giving additional statistics, it said: “The output of primary and secondary industries is primarily intended for export and for serving downstream manufacturing both locally and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. During 2010, due to economic activities in Yanbu city, a total off 80.76 million tonnes of petrochemical products, solid materials and oil products had been exported through King Fahd seaport.”

With the passage of more than three decades, Yanbu Industrial City has not only proved to be a model of industrial development, it has also emerged as an attractive place to live and boasts a community with unlimited potential.

Yanbu-1 is home to 85 industrial enterprises and some 91,000 people. Primary and secondary industries have provided jobs to approximately 11,000 people. Industrial activities have led to the creation of some 47,000 jobs in other economic sectors within the city.

Meanwhile, King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu Industrial City consists of 24 berths and seven specialised terminals and has capability to receive VLCC and ULCC ships. It can handle 130 million tonnes annually.