JUBAIL, 20 January 2003 — Efforts are under way to establish a giant petrochemical factory here with the support of a German company at a total cost of SR15 billion ($4 billion), according to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. The Saudi Industrial Projects Co. (SIPC) has already signed an agreement with the German firm. Dr. Sameer Saeed, director general of Sameer International Investment Co., said work on the project will begin by the end of this year and the factory will start production in the first quarter of 2006. Principal shareholders in SIPC will contribute 20 percent of the capital required for the project and the rest will be borrowed from local and international banks, Saeed told Asharq Al-Awsat. A number of German and European banks are expected to finance the project, which is expected to create 1,500 jobs.