Emaar, The Economic City (EEC), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), recently announced the start of construction of a new manufacturing facility for Clay Pipes at the Industrial Valley (IV) in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) by Advanced Industrial Company. The Advanced Industrial Company for Clay Pipes (AIC) to be built on an 80,000 square meter land at a cost of SR140 million, is scheduled to be operational by 2011. The new facility enjoys a team of experienced professionals, engineers and product specialists, and expected to create more than 144 new jobs and to train new skills among Saudi talent in the region. Clay pipes are key component used in sewage and drainage systems meeting a critical need of high performance and high strength pipes in demand for world class infra projects. Ali Al-Zahrani, project manager in Advanced Industrial Company for Clay Pipes, said "the strategic location of KAEC and the availability of efficient port and road connectivity to the local and regional markets offer an array of logistical capabilities and enables huge growth potentials." "Our ultimate objective is to secure the basic market demands and to ensure continuity of its operations by reaching an initial production capacity of 60,000 tons per annum," he added. KAEC's seaport will be seamlessly linked to the Industrial Valley, giving its tenants access to over 250 million consumers in Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia. Ahmed Linjawy, president of the Industrial and City Services Division in Emaar the Economic City, said the new factory will greatly expand the Kingdom's capacity to produce and export highly durable pipes and instruments. "KAEC Industrial Valley currently offers fully serviced land plots at various sizes with electricity, water, sewage network, telecommunications services, paved roads and storm water drain system to prevent flooding. This has been a major need not only of international manufacturers but also of locals who want to expand their operations but cannot find the appropriate size of fully serviced land plots," he said. "Just recently, EEC announced that 5 million square meter of KAEC IV-first phase has been fully leased out, and we have started leasing in the second phase," Linjawy added. KAEC's Industrial Valley aims to be a social and economic enabler for Saudi Arabia, and encourage local and international manufacturers to open large facilities. KAEC is offering business-friendly regulatory benefits, best-in-class and sustainable infrastructure, and proximity to a state-of-the-art seaport on the Western coast of Saudi Arabia – making KAEC a strategic hub.
