Almost 80% of the work on the infrastructure, land paving, road construction, service delivery and administrative office buildings within Phase One of King Salman Energy Park (known as SPARK), the region’s only fully integrated energy hub, has been completed.
SPARK is a new mega-project located between Dammam and Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. This project is being developed, operated and managed by Saudi Aramco in partnership with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones.
Amco is investing SAR260 million to create a new city center
With work moving along on schedule, Phase One is due for completion later in 2021. This advanced stage means that the allotted land is now ready for investment, and 35 investment applications have been approved for companies and their support services.
Contracts have already been signed with 23 other companies. In early March, SPARK had signed two strategic agreements with the Industrialization and Energy Services Company (Taqa) and the Arab Minerals Company (Amco). Under the agreement, Taqa is looking to develop its local operations through the Taqa Industrial Complex, with an initial investment of up to SAR300 million. Amco is investing SAR260 million to create a new city center.
Chairman Dr Muhammad Yahya Al Qahtani said the investments of the project’s first phase would form a ‘global gateway’ to the regional energy sector, amounting to something like SAR6 billion.
Phase One is due for completion later in 2021
“Despite the challenges and exceptional circumstances that have occurred as a result of the pandemic, we were able to achieve more progress in construction operations in line with the goals set for July of this year, especially after adopting advanced and environmentally friendly building solutions,” he said.
“SPARK is the first in the Middle East region to adopt such innovative solutions to ensure that sustainability remains a primary focus for the development of the project,” Dr Al Qahtani concluded.
SPARK has also launched ‘green building’ solutions to enhance sustainability and support the circular carbon economy, as well as enhancing safety levels on-site and reducing time spent and materials used in construction, he added.
Investments of the first phase, amounting to something like SAR6 billion
SPARK aims to attract local and international industry investors across five strategic sectors, including upstream, downstream, petrochemicals, power and water treatment. Investors will benefit from its wide range of services to help them achieve success and sustainability of their projects. SPARK’s readily available industrial project sites offer high-quality infrastructure, which include internal road networks, an advanced network of electrical power, water, natural gas, sanitation systems, rainwater drainage and the most modern communication network in the Kingdom.