JEDDAH, 11 June 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is set to launch around 20 industrial and infrastructure projects worth more than SR81 billion at Jubail Industrial City today, Prince Saud ibn Abdullah ibn Thunayan, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu announced yesterday. The king is also set to open the first phase of the second industrial city, Jubail-II.
According to an official statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the Jubail-II project, which covers an area of 1,950 hectares, will cost SR2.54 billion. Jubail-II is expected to attract investment projects worth SR220 billion. Prince Saud said Jubail-II would provide an expansion facility for the industrialization of the city for the next 25 to 30 years.
Other projects to be opened by the king include the Butanediol plant of the Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem). The plant, the first of its kind in the Middle East, has an annual capacity of 75,000 tons. The king will open the SR80 million express way linking the present industrial city with Jubail-II.
King Abdullah will also lay the foundation stone for a water pumping station to supply cooling water required for new industries in Jubail-II. The project is estimated to cost SR435 million. He will also lay the stone for a SR249 million electricity power distribution station for Jubail-II.
Other projects to be opened by the king include a SR364 million port and wharf for petrochemicals at King Fahd Industrial Port covering an area of 800,000 square meters, development of the Jalmouda neighborhood at a cost of SR244 million and a housing project to build 621 housing units for the employees of the Royal Commission at a cost of SR433 million.
King Abdullah will also lay the foundation stone for the expansion of the Royal Commission Hospital, the statement said, adding that the project would cost SR70 million. He will also launch a number of SABIC projects including the National Industrial Gas Company (Gas) project, which requires investments worth SR950 million and the Eastern Petrochemical Company project (Sharq) at a cost of SR13.06 billion. The Sharq plant is expecting to have an annual capacity of 1.3 million metric tons of ethylene, 800,000 metric tons of poly ethylene and 700,000 metric tons of glycol ethylene.
The king will also open the projects for the United Petrochemical Company, with an investment of SR1.4 billion, the Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed) with an investment of SR1.1 billion and the Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (Safco) involving an investment of SR2.03 billion. He will also open projects of the National Industrialization Company, Nama, Khaleej Chemical Industries and Farabi Petrochemical Company.
