Saudi Gazette report
Riyadh — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, is scheduled to launch on Monday the first phase of the King Salman Energy Park project "SPARK" located between Dammam and Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province.
Saudi Aramco is developing, operating, managing and maintaining the park’s infrastructure in partnership with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON).
The park will be developed in three phases on a total area of 50 square kilometers. The first phase covers 12 square kilometers and will be fully developed by 2021.
SPARK is a reflection of the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and an embodiment of its executive programs, foremost of which is the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, which seeks to achieve sustainable economic development by transforming the Kingdom into a leading industrial force and a global logistics services platform in promising developmental fields, by focusing on four vital sectors, industry, mining, energy, and logistic services.
The program supports the competitiveness of the private economic zones, including “SPARK”, and transform them into a global market platform.
It also seeks to enhance their direct and indirect gains and returns to the national economy, including job creation and income generation, exports diversification and increase foreign exchange income, the flow of foreign direct investment and the development of government revenues.
The program seeks to provide indirect employment, local skills development, technology transfer, urban and regional development, and economic reforms.
At the completion of its first phase, the park will attract more than 120 investments.
“SPARK” will have five main regions, the first of which will focus on general manufacturing, electricity and equipment, liquids and chemicals, metal formation, and industrial services.
It will have a dry port area with a capacity of 8 million metric tons of cargo annually, a Saudi Aramco well-drilling and maintaining area, a training area dedicated for 10 training centers that function to raise the skills and build capacity of Saudi national cadres; and finally a residential, commercial and recreational area.
By 2035, the park is expected to contribute more than SR22 billion to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), provide up to 100,000 direct and indirect jobs, localize more than 350 new industrial and service facilities, create an industrial base to support innovation, development and global competition, support and increase safety of energy supply at competitive prices, reduce costs of supporting operational services related to the energy sector, and the fast response of local supporting industries and services to the operating company›s urgent operational and development needs.c
