Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, November 30, 2007: Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), the largest private sector-led mega-project in the region, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Total Lubricants Company (SATLUB) to lease land in the industrial zone of KAEC to set up a manufacturing plant for producing advanced lubricant products.
Located in the KAEC Industrial Zone, the plant will be the first lubricant facility of Total in Saudi Arabia. Total is one of the world’s leading oil and gas companies, and marks the evolution of KAEC as a prime driver of the manufacturing sector of the Kingdom. SATLUB is a joint venture of Total and Al Zahid Group, a diversified Saudi group.
Dr Abdulraouf Mannaa, Managing Director and CEO, Emaar.E.C signed the MoU with Mr Jacques Souplet, Regional Director - Middle East & Central Asia, Total.
Dr Mannaa said: “KAEC is fast consolidating its position as a robust environment for manufacturing industries, with the dedicated Industrial Zone gaining huge international investor interest. SATLUB is a leader in the lubricant industry, and the MoU will pave the way for new regional growth opportunities for the company in the lubricant business.”
Mr Souplet added: “This MOU is a strategic move for SATLUB in Saudi Arabia as it is the largest lubricant market in the Arabian Peninsula and SATLUB is committed to establish a strong and long term presence in this market. King Abdullah Economic City will be a unique and strategic location for SATLUB for a manufacturing facility, which will help export the products to Africa and other Middle East countries.”
SATLUB will manufacture and market the entire range of lubricants and specialty products for the automotive, industrial and marine sector within the Kingdom and for future exports under the Total brand.
The state-of-the-art plant, will be commissioned in two years and will be the most-modern blending plant using fully automated technologies. The initial production capacity of the plant will be 35,000 MT of finished products per year, with the potential for capacity expansion.
The plant will strive for excellence and strictly adhere to the Total Group’s highest Quality, Environmental, Safety and Health Standards and will be one among the key manufacturing locations for Total lubricants in the region. Total is present in more than 140 countries around the world and is well-known for providing technologically advanced lubricants approved and recommended by major automotive and engine manufacturers.
KAEC is the single largest private sector-led project in the region enjoys a unique location on the Red Sea coast. The project has six key components: the Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Central Business District (including the Financial District), Resort District, Educational Zone and Residential Communities. Work is progressing according to schedule on the various zones.
The Industrial Zone is one of the key components of KAEC and has been designed to provide total infrastructure support to the entire range of industries – small, medium and large – and research centres. Investor interest to the lease of land in the Industrial Zone has been strong.
