JEDDAH, 12 June 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday inaugurated the first phase of Jubail-II that is estimated to attract industrial projects worth SR210 billion and create more than 55,000 jobs.
King Abdullah, who is on a visit of the Eastern Province, also launched 20 new projects worth SR82 billion belonging to the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RC), the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and various other private companies, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Crown Prince Sultan, Eastern Province Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, Prince Saud ibn Abdullah ibn Thunayan, chairman of the Royal Commission, and senior Cabinet members and top officials attended the launch.
The king pressed a button to mark the opening of Jubail-II, which covers an area of 1,950 hectares. He also watched satellite pictures of Jubail city, the two industrial cities (Jubail-I and Jubail-II), the industrial port and major factories. Jubail-II would provide an expansion facility for the industrialization of the city for the next 25 to 30 years.
Addressing the ceremony, Mohammed Al-Madhi, executive president of SABIC, highlighted the tremendous progress achieved by the petrochemical giant during the past 30 years. He said 85 percent of the company’s employees are Saudis. They are running its advanced machinery and facilities. Saudi Arabia earned a revenue of SR70 billion from export of petrochemicals and other downstream industrial products last year.
Other projects launched by the king in Jubail were the Butanediol plant of the Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem), projects of the National Industrial Gas Company (Gas), the Eastern Petrochemical Company (Sharq), the United Petrochemical Company, the Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed), the Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (Safco), the National Industrialization Company, Nama, Khaleej Chemical Industries and Farabi Petrochemical Company.
King Abdullah also opened the highway linking the present Jubail industrial city with Jubail-II, built by the Royal Commission, and laid the foundation stone for a water pumping station, a power distribution station and a new wing of the Royal Commission Hospital.
Jubail is a burgeoning industrial hub on the Gulf, which has already received foreign investments of over SR172 billion ($46 billion). Many new petrochemical, oil and infrastructure projects are coming up in Jubail, involving billions of riyals in investment. Sipchem recently signed a SR4 billion contract with a consortium of Canadian, German and French firms for the construction of acetic acid and vinyl acetate plants in Jubail.
Last month, Saudi Aramco signed a landmark accord with France’s Total to build a world-class oil refinery in the city at an estimated cost of nearly SR22.5 billion ($6 billion.) The project is scheduled to begin operating in 2011.
Also yesterday, King Abdullah attended receptions organized by Banu Khaled in Qateef as well as the people of Qateef. Speaking on behalf of the people of Qateef, Riyadh Al-Mustafa reaffirmed their allegiance to the king. He praised the king’s efforts in promoting tolerance, brotherhood and peaceful coexistence and reinforcing the concept of moderation. He also noted the government’s plan to establish development projects in all parts of the country.
