Golden Tuna to build facility at KAEC

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), a special economic zone in Saudi Arabia, has leased a plot of land to Venezuela-based Golden Tuna to build its first tuna production facility in Saudi Arabia.

Construction work on the project, which will be located on a 35,906-sq-m parcel of land in Phase Three of KAEC’s Industrial Valley, is scheduled to start later this year, with production set to begin by the beginning of 2018.

Saipem wins petchem plant deal

PetroRabigh said it had awarded a construction contract for its Rabigh II expansion project to Italian oil service group Saipem.

PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical, said the total cost of the 30-month contract to expand its petrochemicals complex was SR782 million ($208.5 million).

The Rabigh II expansion project included an expansion of an existing ethane cracker and a new aromatics complex to process more than 2.7 million tonnes of naphtha a year to make higher-value petrochemical products.

Saudi-Oman link set for opening

A major highway that will link Oman and Saudi Arabia directly by road for the first time ever is due to open this year after a two-year delay.

The highway, which runs through the challenging Empty Quarter desert, is now undergoing trial runs by the Royal Oman Police, reported the Arab News.

The highway on the Oman side is 160 km long, from Tanam in Ibri to the Saudi border. In Saudi Arabia, it stretches 247 km from the Omani border to the Shaybah oilfield and 319 km from Shaybah to the Batha-Haradh Road, which leads to Riyadh. 

Both countries are currently linked by road via the UAE spanning a distance of 2,000 km and the new highway will shorten the distance by 800 km.

Jacobs wins work on Sahara facilities

Jacobs Engineering Group has won a three-year contract from Saudi Arabia-based Sahara Petrochemicals (Sahara) to provide general engineering services at its Jubail Industrial City facilities in the kingdom.

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is expected to provide engineering, procurement, construction supervision, project management, pre-commissioning and commissioning support to a range of small- to medium-sized capital projects for Sahara’s propane dehydrogenation, polypropylene, chlor alkyl, ethylene dichloride and peripheral utilities operating facilities.

Jacobs is a leading global provider of technical, professional and construction services.

Aramco inks maritime yard contract

Saudi Aramco has signed a joint development agreement with the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), UAE engineering firm Lamprell and Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries to develop a maritime yard that will provide engineering, manufacturing and repair services for offshore rigs, commercial vessels and offshore support vessels in the kingdom.

The agreement represents the next phase of development between the partners after signing memoranda of understanding (MoU) in January. Since then, they have been working closely to undertake preliminary due diligence and feasibility studies on the project.

Saudi mid-day work ban in force

Saudi Arabia has imposed a mid-day ban on outdoor work which started from June 15 for the next three months aimed at mainly protecting construction workers who are vulnerable to heat stroke and dehydration.

The mid-day ban makes it illegal for anyone to work outdoors between 12 pm and 3 pm, reported the Saudi Gazette, citing a senior official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. However, there will be exemption in some regions of the kingdom in view of the lower temperatures there.

Marafiq signs $415m loan

The Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) has signed a loan agreement worth SR1.56 billion ($415.7 million) with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF). The loan will be used to develop several projects including industrial water schemes at the facilities of Sadara Company in Jubail and the expansion projects of Marafiq Power Plant in the Yanbu 2, Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Buainain, its chief executive officer, said.

Bridge ‘to recover cost in 10 years’

The cost of the King Salman Bridge, to be built over the Red Sea connecting Saudi Arabia and Egypt at an investment of $3 to $4 billion, can be recovered in 10 years, said a report, citing a former Egyptian minister.

The bridge is likely to be completed in about three years. Once ready, it will cut travel time between the kingdom and Egypt to 30 minutes, reported the Arab News adding that a technical committee is to start preparing for the project.

Midas Furniture opens showroom

Kuwait-based Midas Furniture said it has opened the largest ever furniture showroom in the Middle East over a 17,000-sq-m area in the upmarket district of Al Yasamine Boulevard in Riyadh.

The new showroom, which is the company’s 17th outlet, is located on King Abdul Aziz Road.