https://arab.news/2brf3
RIYADH: Serco, a UK-based transport, defense, and public services provider, has officially launched its Saudi space division, the company has announced.
The firm has been providing support services to the European Space Agency for over 40 years, assisting many of its significant interplanetary, Earth observation, and astronomical missions.
The company also has supported both civil and military space programs for the UK Ministry of Defense and the US Space Command.
In a show of its dedication to the Kingdom, Serco has appointed Amar Vora, who was previously working with the UK Space division to lead the space team in Saudi Arabia, a press release noted.
Amar Vora, who previously worked with the UK Space division, has been appointed to lead the space team in the Kingdom. (Supplied)
Vora has worked closely with several government agencies including ESA in various areas like solution development in space sustainability, earth observation, and space data services.
“In establishing our Saudi Space division, Serco will be bringing decades of experience and expertise to a region where capabilities might still be relatively new, but there is very much the potential and resources to quickly become one of the leading countries worldwide in the space industry,” said Phil Malem, CEO at Serco Middle East.
He added: “Amar Vora is a highly skilled member of our international space division and under his guidance we will be building a local division, with locally trained team members, that will support both the goals of the Saudi government and Saudi Space Commission within Vision 2030.”
Vora and his team will be prioritizing local hires and capacity building, offering training and robust career development programs for talents in the Kingdom.
He said the opportunities now present in Saudi Arabia’s space sector are “literally infinite.”
Vora added: “As a team, we are also very much looking forward to harnessing the capabilities and skill sets of local talents on the ground to achieve great things together.”
It was during an exclusive interview with Arab News in December that Serco’s Middle East CEO initially revealed his company’s plans to open a new space division in Saudi Arabia.
He said the move would “offer some highly innovative services for the first time in the region at a time when space-related technology, data, and science are now increasingly becoming part of the national agenda.”