Big investment takes flight in Jubail

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz (C) of Saudi Arabia with residents of Jubail. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

RELATED ARTICLES: Yanbu & Jubail, KSA | Jubail awards US $257.5mn in contracts | City update: Jubail

It is nearly a year to the day that it was announced that more than SR54 billion was to flow into Jubail Industrial City, at a grand ceremony inaugurated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and included, among others, HH Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thanyyan, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) and Jubail Governor Abdul Mohsin Al-Otaishan.

This was on top of the SR174 billion value of active projects, and continues the “great interest to get the maximum benefit from the state resources by allocating the biggest budget for development in the history of the country,” in the words of the chairman.

The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu lists 30 projects scheduled to start last year in the industrial city twinned with Yanbu, and the last eight months have seen an astounding number of projects either award contracts or start.

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

These projects are split between the familiar stories of industrial plants springing up, as well as launching big plans for its residential district, including schools, apartments and a culture centre. The next eight months show no sign of slowing.

“Jubail is a little more advanced in the number of industries compared to Yanbu,” believes Abdullah Ibrahim, general manager at Riyadh-based National Contracting Company (NCC), “but they are twinned and based around petrochemicals and oil.”

NCC is one company taking advantage of community-focused projects. It is into its first month building a girl’s elementary school in the city, a US $21 million joint project with the construction arm of its parent company, Rezayat Co. Ibrahim is overseeing both teams.

“The project was signed in the last week of April and started the first week of May at the mobilization stage. We’ve actually merged the teams, there’s no real separation of responsibility, and there is a central source for procurement. We’re trying to utilize the experience of each company for better output, sourcing manpower, getting resources – to cross reference between them.”

Ibrahim adds that infrastructure related projects have been ongoing and now require expansion. “The more growth in industries, the more requirements for accommodation,” he says, adding that a contract for a clinic has already been awarded.

Rezayat itself has been busy with the latest smaller projects. At the end of last year it won a contract to build a 2,261 m2 Social and Cultural Center City with its ancillary facilities.