JUBAIL, 14 October — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday endorsed plans to establish a second industrial city in Jubail.
The new city is expected to attract investment worth SR131 billion and create 55,000 new job opportunities.
Prince Saud ibn Abdullah, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, said the crown prince approved the project while chairing a meeting of the commission’s board of directors here. Prince Abdullah has also directed the authorities to start work on the new industrial city project.
Prince Abdullah, who arrived in the Eastern Province on Saturday, also inaugurated 14 projects worth SR35 billion in Jubail yesterday. They included three expansions of Kemya at a cost of SR4.5 billion, as well as expansion works at Ibn Zahr (SR1.125 billion), Petrochemya (SR3 billion) and Sharq (SR4.7 billion), and a flat steel plant project (SR5 billion).
He also laid the foundation stone for a SR8 billion United Jubail Petrochemical Company and a SR180 million SABIC technological center.
He also opened the expansion of the cooling water system under the Royal Commission and toured the project’s facilities and approved the expansion of the industrial colleges in Jubail and Yanbu and the establishment of a technical institute in Yanbu.
Prince Abdullah was accompanied by a large number of princes and high-ranking officials including Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
Prince Saud pointed out that private capital worth more than SR200 billion has been invested in the twin industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu, adding that the commission has already established 30 industrial complexes.
He commended the government for setting up the commission and providing it with administrative and financial flexibility to manage the two cities.
He said the two cities have played a big role in preserving the Kingdom’s share in international petrochemical market.
“The two cities also consume two billion cubic meters of natural gas daily,” he said.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Industry and Electricity Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani highlighted the growth achieved by the industrial sector, adding that it contributes 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Total investments in the sector have exceeded SR245 billion. Saudi industrial products valued at SR30 billion are exported to over 100 countries.
He noted the strategic decision taken by SABIC to purchase DSM Petrochemicals of Holland. With the combined polyolefin assets of SABIC and DSM Petrochemicals, SABIC EuroPetrochemicals, a new company, offers itself as a competitive participant in the European polymers market.
Mubarak Al-Khafra, chairman of the National Industrialization Company for Petrochemicals, said the company’s new SR2 billion industrial complex, for which the crown prince laid the foundation yesterday, will produce 500,000 tons of polypropylene annually.
