Al-Khafji industrial city to draw SR 2 bn investments

JEDDAH: A new industrial city will be established in Al-Khafji, near Riyadh, Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced yesterday. Spreading on 30 million square meters, the new city would draw investments worth SR 2 billion.
“Efforts are underway to acquire land for the industrial city, and we expect it would be done very soon,” said the minister. He underscored the city’s competitive features.
“Al-Khafji is an oil city on the Kingdom’s east coast with good infrastructure facilities and it is easy to get feedstock required by industries. A port can be established there to export products to international markets,” he said.
Al-Rabiah said the new industrial city would be able to market its products in Kuwait and other neighboring countries including Turkey.
Fahd Al-Khaleel, vice president of the Businessmen’s Council in Al-Khafji, said the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs would soon allocate 30 million square meters of land for the project.
According to him, the new industrial city would draw investments exceeding SR 2 billion.
“Talks are underway with Kuwaitis who want to shift their industries to Al-Khafji,” he said, adding that 20 Kuwait industries, with a total investment of more than SR 100 million have already been shifted to the city.
Al-Khaleel said the new industrial city would be designed to accommodate both heavy and light industries attracting huge investments.
The Businessmen’s Council has announced plan to establish a logistical warehouse company in Al-Khafji, he said, adding that it would strengthen the city’s economic and business prospects.
He called for the establishment of a marketing committee for each industrial city in the country, under the Council of Saudi Chambers.
Three major oil companies are operating in Al-Khafji: Aramco Gulf Operations, Chevron Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco.
Al-Khafji, which is in the Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, is located in the far northeastern tip of the Kingdom facing the Arabian Gulf, has an oil capacity of around 610,000 barrels per day. Al-Khafji Operations Company wants to increase this figure to 700,000-900,000 bpd by 2030. KJO is split between Aramco Gulf Operations and Kuwait Gulf Oil Co.