RIYADH: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is planning to build two steel plants on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast for its affiliate Hadeed, it said yesterday.

One plant, in Jubail, would have processing capacity of 1.5 million tons a year and the other, in Rabigh, one million tons a year, SABIC said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The world's biggest petrochemical company and 70-percent owned by the state, SABIC said it has reached an agreement with the Oil Ministry for fuel to power the plants which it said would create 2,500 jobs. It did not give a start date.