Saudi Aramco to build the Gulf’s largest shipyard through a joint venture with three companies, a $5.2 billion project aimed at helping reduce the economy’s reliance on oil.
Aramco said it had signed a shareholder agreement with National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), a state-controlled firm which ships oil for Aramco, London-listed United Arab Emirates engineering firm Lamprell Plc, and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.
The 4.3 square kilometre (1.7 square mile) shipyard will be located at Ras Al Khair on Saudi Arabia’s east coast.
“The directors expect that the Maritime Yard will be the largest in the Arabian Gulf in terms of production capacity and scale,” Lamprell said in a statement.
Major production is expected to start in 2019 with the yard hitting full capacity by 2022. It will be able to work on four offshore rigs and over 40 vessels a year including three very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Aramco said.
(Reuters)