RIYADH, 6 August — A Saudi-German firm has received the green light from the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) to invest in a $213 million plant to produce magnesium and potassium chloride, SAGIA said yesterday. The project, won by the Gulf Das Co., will be established in Dammam, SAGIA said in a statement. The investment also involves construction of a power generation plant for the project, slated to start production by 2005.
Based on feasibility studies, the project will produce 20,000 tons of magnesium and 48,000 tons of potassium chloride a year and will employ 300 workers, SAGIA added.
With this project, total projects granted to foreign and local investors by SAGIA since its establishment in April 2000 now exceeds $11.6 billion, $9.2 billion of which was earmarked before Sept. 11.
SAGIA was set up to promote foreign investment in Saudi Arabia. Sectors like telecommunications, insurance, oil exploration, security, retail and wholesale, education, and land and sea transport are among 19 activities still barred to foreign investors.
