Mars executives pose for a picture after laying the foundation stone for the chocolate company's $60-million factory at King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah, Wednesday. — Courtesy photo By Mohannad Sharawi Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The foundation stone to mark the launch of the Mars confectionary and chocolate factory in the Kingdom was laid at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Wednesday. The $60-million factory is being built on an area of 100,000 square meters after the chocolate company opened premises in Egypt and Dubai. Sami Darouni, Regional President of Mars in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META), said in a press conference Tuesday that the factory, set to open in 2014, will have 300-400 associates or employees, 50 percent of whom will be Saudis. “We will use some 20 percent of the total allocated area to build the factory with an initial investment of $60 million. In the next 10 years, we will add more investment, about $150 million, to reach a total of $210 million and employ around 800 highly-qualified associates,” Darouni said. He said Mars would go beyond the 50 percent of Saudi employees by training more Saudi youth to be able to work in the factory. Mars will initially start with two main brands – Galaxy and Jawaher (Jewelry). Production lines will be enhanced to include four more brands. “This reveals how fertile the Saudi industrial milieu is as industrial investment facilities and procedures have become more attractive to foreign investment,” Darouni said. Ahmed Linjawy, Chief of KAEC industrial zone services, said the total investment in the industrial sector in KAEC has reached SR8 billion and will hopefully increase to SR13.6 billion in the next 10 years. The Mars factory will be designed as per the standards of Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) to emit less carbon. __
