YANBU: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Tuesday opened the SR20 billion Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. (Yansab) with an annual production capacity of four million tons of petrochemicals. The king also inaugurated SR574 million worth of projects for the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY).
Other projects for Yanbu 2 Industrial City that the king opened included ones for infrastructure worth SR296 million; road and bridge projects worth SR133 million; educational facilities at a cost of SR145 million; developmental projects worth SR2 billion. The king also opened projects for Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) for SR5.75 billion; an expansion project for electricity to generate 500 megawatts at a cost of SR3 billion; various industrial projects worth of SR7.25 billion; and private projects valued at SR5.5 billion.
King Abdullah approved the construction of an integrated water desalination project with a capacity of producing 550,000 cubic meters of water and 1,700 megawatts of electricity at a cost of SR14 billion to meet the requirements of Madinah.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, who arrived in Yanbu on Tuesday, also attended the functions. Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed and RCJY Chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan received the distinguished guests at the venue of the function.
Earlier in the day, King Abdullah inaugurated the expansion project of the Prince Abdul Mohsen bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Yanbu. On his arrival at the airport from Madinah in the afternoon, the king was received by Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Prince Naif and Prince Saud.
King Abdullah and King Hamad viewed a replica of the expanded airport project while being briefed on its various aspects. King Abdullah approved its expansion when he visited Yanbu in July 2005, a month before he became king.
Sprawling over an area of 8,500 sq. meters, the airport has new control towers, cargo facilities, security and safety systems.
The SR210 million airport will have modern aviation and passenger facilities for 600,000 travelers annually, Chairman of the General Authority for Civil Aviation Abdullah Ruhaimy said.
After the function, King Abdullah and King Hamad went in a procession to the Yanbu Industrial City.
The two leaders also viewed the descriptive plates of the development projects for the colleges and institutes of the Royal Commission and seafront development plan in Yanbu and the replica of the Yanbu Industrial Center.
Speaking on the occasion, Prince Saud said the Kingdom has succeeded in warding off the negative effects of the global economic crisis under the leadership of King Abdullah.
“The right investment in the human and material resources in the Kingdom made it possible to bring about an environment suited for the founding economic cities, advanced universities and giant projects across the Kingdom,” said the prince.
“While some time ago the king opened a number of huge projects in Jubail on the eastern coast, now we witness the opening of new projects in Yanbu 2 on the western coast.”
In his address, Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC CEO and vice chairman, said that through Yansab his company is implementing a strategy of diversification of its products to meet the increasing global demand for petrochemicals.
King Abdullah and King Hamad held formal talks at the King Fahd Urban Center in Yanbu. The two leaders discussed regional and international developments and ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
