Dammam's Second Industrial City has become the beehive of private sector activity in the Eastern Province with some 70 large industries under construction there, Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry says.

"Some of these units have started trial production while others are in an advanced stage of construction with their imported machinery having arrived and installation in progress," the Chamber said in its official organ Saudi Commerce and Economic Review. It added that half of the 70 units would likely go into production this year with the rest following up next year.

It clarified that the new industrial projects getting ready for operations did not include land allotments made by the Administrative Office for 100 new projects in the Second Industrial City. Taking that figure into account, there are altogether 170 new projects coming up to give "a new dimension to the development of non-oil industries" in the province.

Dammam's Second Industrial City will have 345 units in the next few years including existing factories, the Chamber said, adding that a broad estimate would put the increase in total industrial investments to SR12 billion from the current level of SR7 billion.

Perhaps the largest among industries under construction is the National Steel and Iron Factory. The project, expected to be ready in two years, is being put up at a cost of SR200 million. The factory - a melt shop - was described as the first of its kind in the kingdom with the product range including steel billets from scrap or iron ore. Owner of the plant is the Al Tuwairqi Group whose Al Ittefaq Steel Products Factory, located in the city, manufactures steel square bars and rebars, among other things.

Another large unit, whose project cost is estimated at SR99 million, will manufacture pipefittings, sealings and accessories. The other leading projects include an air conditioning factory to be put up at a cost of SR44 million as well as a factory for nails and screws and another for cans, both being installed at a cost of SR36 million each.

Also coming up is a new pharmaceutical plant for producing a range of allopathic medicines. Arasco is putting up a chemical complex for manufacturing di-calcium phosphate and food-grade phosphoric acid.

In 2001, Dammam's Second Industrial City welcomed 11 new factories including some expansion projects of units that were initially located outside the city.

The list included Group Five Pipe Saudi belonging to Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al Qahtani and Sons Group. The company makes large-diameter steel pipes ranging from 500mm to 3,000mm using steel up to 25mm thick. The total investment in the project was estimated at SR116.9 million.

Other projects which went on stream last year were Bischof + Klein Middle East (heavy duty bags and other flexible packing), Gulf Salt Company (industrial and consumer-grade salt), Al Abbas Carton Factory, Al Ebtekar Factory for Packaging and Printing, Saudi Beds and Mattresses Factory, National Springs and Foam Mattresses, Al Ajab Metal Galvanising Factory, Arabian Transformers Company, Grease and Lubricants Factory and Balhamer Roller & Brush Factory.

The new SR45 million Bischof + Klein Middle East factory has an annual production capacity of 8,500 tonnes of heavy duty industrial bags (form, fill and seal) and tubular stretch hood films made of polyethylene resins.

Its general manager told the Chamber magazine that the company had introduced for the first time in the Middle East an innovative three-layer extrusion technology in making flexible packaging.

The adoption of the new technology, he said, enabled the product to be of high quality, giving "extra technical and commercial benefits to its users". The form, fill and seal film had the advantage of selected use of different kinds of PE grades to become "functional layer share", unlike the traditional single layer product so far available in the region.

"The outer layer is created to get a very high 'coefficient of friction' to ensure the anti-slip aspect of the bag, which is very important for stability of the pallets of filled bags during storage and transport.

He added that the middle layer was made in such a way so as to handle the film's mechanical properties such as cutting, rigidity and strength. The inner layer was designed to get easy sealing properties and a larger temperature window.

He also said that the tubular stretch hood film had a number of advantages when compared with the shrink film currently in use.