JEDDAH – Air Products and The Arabian Company for Power and Water Development (ACWA Holding) announced recently they have signed a joint venture agreement for the formation of a new company, ACWA Air Products Arabia, that will be located in Al-Khobar City. The partnership will focus on the successful pursuit of large-scale industrial gas opportunities within the Kingdom. Mohammed A. Abunayyan, ACWA Holding Chairman, said: “Partnering with Air Products which is one of the world's largest owners and developers of industrial gases, is a strategic move for ACWA Holding to broaden its economic contribution as a major private sector developer for the Kingdom and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). Furthermore, ACWA Holding's track record as a leading regional owner and developer of facilities in power generation, water desalination/treatment, sewage water treatment, district cooling and solar/waste management will enable the new joint venture to provide effective and competitive quality industrial gas facilities to serve the region's hydrocarbon and industrial markets.” Howard Castle-Smith, Air Products' regional vice president-Tonnage Gases Europe and Middle East said: “Our new venture with ACWA Holding complements Air Products' existing presence in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GCC, providing a strong platform to further grow our business there by partnering with prime Saudi industrial investors and developers, such as ACWA Holding.” “By leveraging our mutual capabilities – Air Products' knowledge and proven track record in large industrial gas plants and ACWA Holding's strong infrastructure position - we will be able to pursue large-scale industrial gas opportunities within the Kingdom and provide customers with secure quality, manufacture and distribution,” Castle-Smith said. The new company, ACWA Air Products Arabia, complements Air Products' 25 percent stake in Abdullah Hashim Industrial Gases & Equipment Co. Ltd. (AHG), a company of the privately-owned Abdullah Hashim Group, based in Saudi Arabia. Air Products has been serving customers in the Middle East for over 50 years, and already operates a helium and cylinder gases filling and distribution facility, as well as a specialty gases center in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. Air Products has offices in Doha, Qatar and Dubai and works closely with the region's petrochemical, gasification and refining industries. It has built, owned and operated air separation units (ASU) and hydrogen production plants throughout the Middle East. – SG
