DAMMAM, 11 October — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, who is set to start an inspection tour of the Eastern Province tomorrow, will have an open dialogue with students of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran.
Prince Abdullah will also inaugurate the fifth phase of the university’s campus project as well as its new workshop for oil refining technology. He will also attend the university’s 40th anniversary celebrations and lay the foundation for an industrial research complex.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Dukhayyil, the university’s rector, welcomed the crown prince’s visit to the Eastern Province, saying the royal visit would witness opening of several development projects in the region.
The university was established by a Royal Decree on Sept. 23 1963. But studies started a year later, when 67 young men enrolled in what was then the College of Petroleum and Minerals.
In 1975, the college became the University of Petroleum and Minerals, a change both in name and academic status. In 1986, the university was renamed after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.
The university is divided into eight academic units principally concerned with teaching and research. These units are the College of Graduate Studies, College of Applied Engineering, College of Engineering Sciences, College of Sciences, College of Industrial Management, College of Environmental Design, College of Computer Science & Engineering and Preparatory Year Program.
During his several-day tour, Prince Abdullah is scheduled to open a large number of projects in the region including the Hawiya gas plant, King Abdul Aziz Military City, a 300-bed King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Al-Ahsa and a 100-bed hospital in Dammam. He will also inaugurate a number of development projects in the region including roads, bridges, parks and water projects, and lay the foundation stone for King Fahd Industrial Port’s expansion project.
The crown prince will also commission the expansion projects of Jubail Petrochemical Company, Saudi-European Petrochemical Company, Arab Petrochemical Company, Saudi Iron and Steel Company.
He will lay the foundation for the United Petrochemical Company (United), Saudi Olefines Company and SABIC Technical Center, Jubail Technical Institute.
