Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd, which has emerged as a major player in the construction industry of the Gulf region, has announced plans to build a high-profile “Safety Training Center” with a permanent office in Saudi Arabia. This announcement was made by Shin-Youl Kang, Samsung’s vice president and resident director, while speaking on the occasion of the national day of South Korea, yesterday.
“This ambitious initiative to set up a safety training facility, on the one hand, will help young Saudi engineers and technicians to learn about safety rules and practices, while on the other, it will cut reliance on foreign workers,” said Kang. He pointed out that “the Safety Training Center will offer comprehensive and flexible solutions for all safety training needs, while for the first time introducing the whole concept of safety for engineers and technocrats.”
The center, he said, will offer a full complement of state-of-the-art training services delivered through a wide variety of channels. “Whether you need standard training addressing industry issues or a program customized to your location and situation, our professionals will meet your objectives,” said Kang. He pointed out that Samsung will operate the training center and will make it a unique and outstanding facility to improve the safety standards especially in the industrial area of Jubail.
The training, he said, will greatly help “our esteemed clients, subcontractors and public through the experience of comparable situation between safe and unsafe conditions based on the experience of operating a safety training center in Korea.” Samsung will also operate the training program for potential Saudi engineers based on the globalized education program in the permanent office, which is also planned to be set up separately.
Extending his greetings on the occasion of the National Foundation Day of Korea, Kang said that Samsung has a number of prestigious projects in hands. They include the Tasnee Ethylene project ($860 million) which is being constructed; the APPC PDH/PP project ($510 million) also at the construction stage; the SHARQ EG project ($350 million); the Ibn Zahr PP-3 project ($302 million); the Ibn Zahr OCT project ($100 million), and the Kayan projects and Ma’aden ammonia projects ($946 million) which are both at the engineering stage.
Kang said that Samsung recently got the Ma’aden ammonia project (which will be the world’s largest ammonia plant with a capacity of 3,300 tons/day). “The project is for the Saudi Arabian Mining Company and will be completed by Dec. 2010,” said Kang. Samsung Engineering has signed an agreement to build the ammonia plant, which is the company’s largest single contract in Saudi Arabia. On hearing the news of the new contract, Samsung’s shares rose to a record high.
The company now expects to exceed a previous target for SR13.2 billion in orders this year. Kang said “the Saudi public and private sector companies have reposed trust in Samsung and hence the company is getting major orders. The ammonia project or many other projects are prestigious. Moreover, we are currently bidding for several other projects,” said the Samsung chief.
“We are currently participating in the several tenders including that for the NCP Ethylene, Aramco Ras Tanura DHT, Yanbu OSOS PBT project and so on,” he added. Samsung believes that the successful completion of on-going projects with clients’ satisfaction in aspects of quality, schedule and safety is one of key factors for business developing so well with Saudi clients. In fact, Samsung is showing remarkable performance in its project execution. It has achieved 32 million safety man-hours in its’ ongoing projects in the Jubail area until the end of September of this year.
Referring to Samsung’s corporate social responsibility, he said that “as you may be aware, one of our core values is co-prosperity with local society.” To this end, he noted support extended by Samsung to the Jubail Center for Down’s Syndrome, a local social initiative to help children suffering from Down’s Syndrome. This is in addition to several other such community programs sponsored and supported by Samsung in the recent past.
On the business and technology front, Samsung has emerged as a major player in the high-tech engineering market. He said that Samsung always seeks to ensure quality, schedule, standards and safety. “These features serve as key factors for business development and help to boost the growth of the company together with the clients,” he said. Asked about the expertise in handling energy and environmental projects, he said that Samsung had specialized itself in energy and environmental projects overseas as well as in domestic markets.
“In fact, we have executed 24 refinery projects and 133 environmental projects with 155 intellectual property rights,” said the Samsung chief. “At the moment, one energy project is under construction stage in Mexico and another energy project is under bidding stage in Kuwait,” he said. In fact, Samsung has vigorously tackled environmental and energy-related research projects. This has brought about several successes including the original invention of hydrogen storage and high-class system related technology, both core technologies in the field of fuel cells, an area that is coming into the spotlight as a next-general energy resource.
Also, several environmental projects are in the preparation stage to be announced by Saudi Arabia as well as other Gulf countries, he noted. Samsung, he said, had successfully executed a $350 million-SPC PDH/PP project and a $50 million Petrokemya butane-1 project. Kang said that Samsung had experience in operating and handling petrochemical, oil and gas, refinery, industrial, and environmental projects and plants.
He said that Samsung had successfully built its own good reputation among clients mainly for its efforts in successfully completing valuable projects with a marked difference in terms of quality, schedule and safety. “For instance, Samsung received the contracts for the Tasnee Ethylene project and APPC PDH/PP project mainly because of the good results shown by this company on SPC PDH/PP project,” he said.
He said that Samsung had organized its technical and manpower infrastructure in the Kingdom in such a way that it can handle any kind and any size of projects. The company has laid particular emphasis on IT, accommodation, integrated administration, public relations, human resources and construction equipment operation under the supervision of the Jubail integrated office. This helps to maximize the synergy effect considering the limited resources and market situation.
He said that Samsung Engineering’s business encompasses petrochemical, oil, gas, industrial facilities, and environmental plants that enrich our lives and a full range of engineering services including feasibility study, design, procurement, construction, facility operation and management. “Our first and foremost mission was to generate values for its customers and shape businesses for continuous fulfillment of client’s needs,” said Kang.
He said: “As a major player in the high-tech engineering market, Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd. ranks as a major regional power that creates high future value for customers.” In the years ahead, Samsung has resolved to lay added emphasis on strengthening customer-oriented business, upgrading its business portfolio and enhancing project execution capabilities, while emerging as a true No.1 company across the world.”
The company currently enjoys a solid footing in the Gulf states including the Kingdom, where a number of huge projects namely — refineries, buildings and power stations — are coming up because of the soaring oil prices. “Samsung will only get better as a number of major projects are expected to be awarded this year in the Middle East,” Byun Sung Jin, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities Co. in Seoul, said in a statement recently.
“This contract will put Samsung Engineering in a better position to win more orders,” said the analyst, while referring to the new ammonia plant project. Saudi Arabia is the biggest single source of overseas revenue for South Korean contractors, having pumped out nearly SR220 billion in orders during the last 34 years that they have been doing business in the Kingdom, according to a report issued by the International Contractors Association of Korea.
Saudi Arabia is expected to invest about SR285 billion until 2010 for refineries and other chemical plants. Korean contractors have received a combined SR28 billion in new orders from the Middle East including Saudi Arabia this year, according to the contractors’ association. Samsung expects to exceed this year’s target for new orders. “It will be another year of record orders for Samsung Engineering and that will be reflected into its earnings next year,” Byun said.