RIYADH, 3 May 2007 — More than 400 Samsung Engineering employees have swapped construction equipment for trash bags to help clean up the dirty shoreline in the Eastern Province city of Jubail. The volunteers collected garbage washed ashore and picked up randomly-thrown paper, clothes, cans and other rubbish from a long section of the beach as part of a community initiative launched by the Korean company.
“The occasion marked the 37th foundation day celebrations of Samsung Engineering,” Shin-Youl Kang, vice president and resident director of Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd., said in Riyadh yesterday. He said that around 700 workers have so far taken part in two major clean-up events. The Samsung workers have so far removed thousands of kilograms of waste and cleaned about 22 short sections of Jubail’s beaches.
The beach cleaning campaign was also attended by top Samsung managers including Senior Administration Manager Sung-Jin Park, Tasnee project’s Vice President Sang Kyu Lee, Senior Executive VP Choi Heung Sik and another senior official Yun Kyun.
Workers from Samsung Engineering spent a whole day walking along the shore collecting rubbish including random papers, cloth rags, carpet pieces, old car parts and many other types of pollutants. Referring to the enthusiasm of Samsung employees in the beach cleaning campaign, Kang said that the campaign focused on the beaches near Jubail, which is rich in biodiversity. The Jubail beaches are arguably the most beautiful in Saudi Arabia.
In one day, the group cleaned several kilometers of coastline. Kang said that this campaign seeks to encourage people to take greater care of the environment and raise awareness of the human impact on nature.
“We are trying to encourage people to help and tell them that it can be fun to clean,” said Kang, who recently donated SR130,000 to a Saudi institution involved in the treatment and rehabilitation of children suffering from Down’s Syndrome.
The company is running this community initiative with the slogan “Running Together 2007.”
Samsung, which has a business philosophy to help and integrate itself with the local society, has won several contracts in the Kingdom.
“Samsung Saudi Arabia, established in 1999 by Samsung Engineering of South Korea, had emerged as one of the leading companies in petrochemical, oil and gas, refinery, industrial and environmental plants sector,” said Kang.
The company has recently won six mega projects worth SR9.4 billion, reflecting the strength of this South Korean company in terms of high-end technology, human resources and quality control, he said.
The six projects currently being executed include Tasnee Ethylene Project, APPC PDH/PP Project, Sharq EG Project, Ibn Zahr PP-3 Project, Ibn Zahr OCT Project and Kayan PP Project.
The company, which has world-class expertise in handling energy and environmental projects, has emerged as a major international player with substantial business interests in the Middle East countries. It has so far executed successfully 24 refinery projects and 133 environmental projects.
