RIYADH, 23 March 2004 — A leading Saudi steel company is to set up the first billet-making plant at Port Qasim at a cost of $100 million. The project which is set to take off during the second half of this year is slated to be inaugurated by the prime minister of Pakistan.

Speaking to Arab News, the Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Al Tuwairqi Group, Tariq Barlas said the proposed project is another significant landmark in the Saudi-Pakistan bilateral relations.

Barlas said the Chairman of the Group Hilal Al-Hussein Al-Tuwairqi is keenly interested in bolstering this excellent relations with Saudi investments into industrial projects in Pakistan.

“The group had options of other locations at many modern free trade zones in the Middle East and elsewhere but Pakistan was selected for sentimental reasons,” said Barlas. He said the design of the plant would be of Al-Tuwairqi but most of the fabrication of the plant will be done in Pakistan under the guidance of top experts from the US and Germany.

The billet steel mill would enjoy all the concessions and facilities allowed under the export processing zone’s charter. Initially, 100 acres of land will be allocated for the plant near Pakistan Steel Mill and later another 100 acres will be given to enable the investors to set up their own power generation plant of 120mw with a cost of another $100 million.

The project will have a production capacity of one million ton per annum and according to Barlas, the government of Pakistan has assured the group of all necessary provisions and co-operation.

Karachi Electric Supply Corporation had assured provision of electricity to kick-start the plant and also committed to giving backup support. SSGC had agreed to provide 70 million CBTU of gas for a period of 10 years and that could be extended for another 20 years.

The Port Qasim, which was already in the process of deepening its draft from 11 meters to 14 meters, has promised to provide facility to larger vessels of 120,000 tons to bring in iron and ore for the steel plant.

Barlas said that most of the manpower would be taken from Pakistan and preference would be given to Pakistan Steel workers who have the necessary know-how of the steel industry. To keep the unit on fast track, he added that it was necessary to keep the entire production for export purpose only and no local marketing will be done.

The project was finalized at a meeting held in Pakistan on Jan. 4 presided over by the secretary, Ministry of Industries of Production, and attended by heads and representatives of utility companies, including water board, KESC, SSGC, PQA, EPZA, BOI and Pakistan Steel.

Another important decision taken at the meeting was setting up of a monitoring as well as a steering committee with representation from all the utility companies, BOI, Water Board, EPB and Pakistan Steel.

Both the committees will include representatives of Al- Tuwairqi Group. Some of the other companies under Al-Tuwairqi group include Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Factory, National Iron and Steel Factory, Al-Faisal Steel Products Factory, Thames Steel Limited United Kingdom, the International Electrical Products Company and Scientific and Medical Division.