RIYADH, 9 October — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday reaffirmed the government’s strategy of supporting the industrial sector in its bid to diversify the country’s revenue sources.
Prince Abdullah made the comment while attending silver jubilee celebrations of Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the Kingdom’s petrochemical giant that has an annual turnover of SR28.4 billion and 18 industrial complexes.
Prince Abdullah also opened the new SABIC headquarters building here and honored pioneers who contributed to SABIC’s success story, including Water Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and Industry Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani.
Gosaibi, who spoke on behalf of the honored officials, said he was representing those who worked for the company’s development from its inception.
"The real heroes in this development are the maintenance workers, the engineers responsible for security and safety, and the thousands of other workers whose names remain unknown to us. We celebrate today their achievements," the minister said.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of princes and high-ranking officials, including Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, and Riyadh Governor Prince Salman.
Mohammed Al-Madhi, managing director of the corporation, thanked Prince Salman for supporting the new headquarters project. He said SABIC projects helped convert petroleum gases, which pollute the atmosphere, into value-added products.
Madhi said that SABIC at present produces more than 36 million tons of various petrochemical and mineral products, which are marketed in over 100 countries. SABIC exports constitute about 70 percent of the Kingdom’s total non-oil exports.
More than 78 percent of SABIC’s 15,000 employees are Saudis.
Dr. Yamani, who is chairman of SABIC, said the corporation’s research and development division had produced more than 200 patents. He also disclosed SABIC’s plan to launch an annual prize to encourage Saudis engaged in scientific research that would further the goal of development, and expressed his hope that Prince Abdullah would agree to have the prize named after him.
Covering an area of 285,000 square meters, the new headquarters’ two towers include a conference hall, an entertainment center and other facilities.
Established in 1976, SABIC is rated first among Arab countries and 11th internationally in the field of basic industries.
The government owns 70 percent of the corporation, which with $2.7 billion capital is considered one of the largest petrochemical companies in the Middle East.
Saudi investments in petrochemicals were estimated at $40.5 billion in 2000.
