The first phase of Saudi Arabia’s $1.6 billion (Dh5.87bn), King Salman Energy Park, or Spark, is 60 per cent complete.
The initial phase of the park, located in the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern province, consists of infrastructure, roads, utilities, and real estate assets spanning 14 square kilometres. The first phase, which is being built at a cost of 6bn Saudi riyals (Dh5.8bn) also includes a three square kilometre logistics zone and dry port.
The park will be completed in 2021 and will add SAR22bn annually to the kingdom’s economy by 2035, creating thousands of skilled job opportunities, the company said.
“Spark will be a new engine fuelling the growth of the energy sector as well as driving the diversification agenda of our economy,” said Mohammed Yahya Al Qahtani, chairman of the King Salman Energy Park.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is developing large-scale industrial parks and stepping up privatisation under Vision 2030, which looks to move the kingdom away from its reliance on crude revenue.
Fifteen energy companies have signed agreements to invest in Spark, including oil services firms Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, a unit of GE and Halliburton. Another 15 companies are set to invest in the industrial park, the company said. Spark is also expected to attract $2bn in investment over the next two years, once the construction of planned infrastructure is complete.
The industrial park also signed a preliminary agreement with Hong Kong-based logistics firm, Hutchinson Ports, to form a joint venture to manage and operate Spark’s dry port and logistics zone.
Last year, Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil services firm began work on a $46 million facility to manufacture drilling solutions for the regional energy industry. Japanese firm Yokogawa is close to finishing construction of its new high-tech equipment centre, the company said.
Dubai-based Oilfields Supply Centre said last year it planned to invest around $450m over the next two years in the industrial park.
Spark, located between Dammam and Al Hasa, will also benefit from Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add programme, an initiative launched in December 2015. The scheme requires all of the company’s suppliers to attain 70 per cent local production and export 30 per cent of locally manufactured energy goods and services output by 2021.
