(MENAFN - Arab News) Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, yesterday highlighted the Kingdom's industrial progress and said: "We are currently witnessing an industrial boom."
Addressing a ceremony, which witnessed RC signing a number of agreements with major companies, he said total investment in Jubail and Ras Al-Khair reached more than SR 418 billion in 365 projects.
Prince Saud praised Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's support to the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu. King Abdullah laid the foundation for Jubail-2 industrial city in 2004.
The Royal Commission signed an agreement with Sadara to establish a SR 75 billion petrochemical complex, which will have 26 factories with total capacity of five million tons to produce 48 products.
According to another agreement, Saudi Arabian Railway will establish a 85-km rail link between Jubail and Ras Al-Khair to facilitate exports.
The ceremony was attended by Saudi Aramco's President and CEO Khalid Al-Falih, Vice President of SABIC Muhammad Al-Madhi and other senior officials.
Meanwhile, the 10th SABIC Technical and Innovation Meeting inaugurated on Monday highlights the importance of investing in technology and promoting innovation.
Held with the support of Prince Saud, who is also the chairman of SABIC, the event was officially opened by Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC vice chairman and CEO.
The exhibition has brought together around 200 exhibitors from 22 countries, counting with the presence of industry leaders in a wide variety of fields where innovation plays a key role such as in: Asset management, electrical & control systems, fertilizers, chemicals, construction, environment, health and safety (HSE), quality assurance, analytical research and automation. The event will end today.
Al-Mady highlighted the importance of investing in technology, innovation centers and research that ultimately help deliver innovative and sustainable solutions for customers.
Commenting on the unique angle of this year's STIM-10 Exhibition, Al Mady said" "This year's exhibition will demonstrate innovation as a tool to turn ideas into profitable products and services. 'Innovations that matter' is the theme of this year's STIM-10 and this reflects the importance of investing in the ideas of scientists and researchers to deliver ingenious solutions to our customers." He also highlighted that this year's exhibition has witnessed a larger participation of exhibitors from global companies, which demonstrates how the STIM-10 exhibition and meeting are turning into a global specialized platform for collaborating and sharing ideas and knowledge.
Al Mady noted that SABIC has sought, since its very establishment, to localize technology and spur innovation in Saudi Arabia and beyond. The company has made considerable efforts in inspiring its employees to continue to search for and present new ideas in the form of diverse programs and initiatives adopted by the company.
One of those is "MY IDEA", a program through which SABIC gives its people the opportunity to present an innovative business idea. This goes through a rigorous assessment and the most original and relevant ideas are eventually executed, supported by a special company fund for this purpose.
As part of this year's STIM-10 event, a number of workshops have been running in parallel to the exhibition. Numerous work papers and keynote speeches have been presented, focused on adding value to SABIC's culture of ingenuity.
Themes have included: "From Innovation to Market Relevance", "Setting Financing Standards", "Innovation as a Driving Force in Aerospace", "Intellectual Property at SABIC", "Manufacturing Excellence " A Strategic Option", among many others.
