Jubail to be expanded
Saudi Arabia has commenced expansion work on the Jubail Industrial City to accommodate new industries. Officials of the Royal Commission for Jubail Projects said 59 new projects are under way in the city. Of the 59 projects, seven are primary industries, 17 are secondary industries and 35 are support and light manufacturing industries.
The total investment involved in these projects that are currently under design or in the planning stages is SR30.14 billion ($8 billion), the Saudi Gazette reported. Of this amount SR24.73 billion is for primary projects, SR4.7l billion for secondary industries, and SR700 million for support and light industries.
Jeddah to get new industrial city
Saudi Arabia's ministry of industry and electricity intends to establish a second industrial city in Jeddah to provide land plots for industrial investors on the waiting list, whose number has now reached 200.
The new city, three km away from the Southern Corniche road and 45 km south of the existing industrial city, will be constructed over an area of 8 million sq m. The new project, whose maximum capacity ranges between 250 and 300 factories, will be financed and operated by the private sector, whereas the existing industrial city is financed and operated by the ministry.
SIPC signs technology deal
Saudi International Petrochemical Company (SIPC) said it has signed an engineering contract with Jacobs Engineering of the US to supply the process technology for a petrochemical plant project to come up in Jubail in the Kingdom. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 850,000 tonnes of methanol and 140,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide. The statement did not give the value of the contract, part of SIPC's plans for a petrochemical complex in Jubail which is expected to cost $800 million.
Riyadh-based SIPC was set up in 1999 with a paid-up capital of SR500 million by investors from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Fluor to build petchem plant
Jubail United Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) has named Fluor Daniel Arabia as contractor for a planned petrochemical complex in Jubail Industrial City. The statement did not give the cost of the plant but industrial sources say the whole project is expected to cost around $2 billion. It said the complex was expected to come on stream in the second half of 2004 and would have annual production capacities of one million tonnes of ethylene, 450,000 tonnes of ethylene glycol, 400,000 tonnes of high density polyethylene and 100,000 tonnes of linear alpha olefins.
