New $720m sugar plants launch in Saudi
In Jizan Industrial City (JIC), in the south of Saudi Arabia, Indian firm Shree Basaveshwar Sugars (SBS) will build the US$400m Al Reef Sugar Factory. And in the northern region of Yanbu, Durrah Advanced Development Company is working on a US$320m plant, to be built in King Fahd Industrial Port.
Reef targets export market
The JIC project will see SBS develop the Al Reef plant, a 3,500-tonnes-a-day refinery over 200,000 square metres of land. The project will create around 400 new jobs, and is scheduled to be completed with 18 months, with production starting in early 2017.
The Al Reef Sugar project has been in the works since at least 2012, when the project’s patron, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Nasser Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, laid a foundation stone for the factory. But construction of the project will only start in Q2 2015, according to reports.
Sufian Ibrahim, project manager of the Al Reef refinery, was quoted in Arab News earlier this month as saying the plant was expected to see a third of its production go to the Saudi domestic market, with two thirds to be exported to other countries in the region. He also said the refinery would benefit from the kingdom’s low energy costs, and strong transport links on the Red Sea.
SBS chief executive Dilip Desai told Arab News this week that the Saudi government would provide loans covering 75% of the project’s costs. He said the refinery would have an estimated net profit margin of 12-14%, equating to an average profit of US$33m over the first 10 years.
Durrah finalising contracts
In Yanbu, the kingdom’s other new sugar project to be announced this month – the Durrah Sugar Refinery – has a planned capacity of 2,500 tonnes per day, and will cover 150,000 square metres within King Fahd Industrial Port, with direct access to the wharf. Durrah chairman Zamil Abdul Aziz Al Zamil told Arabic-language papers the company had now finished evaluating bids for construction, and would sign contracts soon.
“The construction of the project is commencing in [the first quarter of 2015] with targeted construction period of 22 months, while commercial production will commence in [the first quarter of 2017]. Durrah Sugar Refinery will produce wide of finished refined white sugar for the retail and industrial consumers,” said a statement on the Durrah website.
Sugar announcements have come thick and fast this year, with Sohar Port in Oman announcing construction of a US$200m sugar refinery last month. The Sohar refinery will have a capacity of 1m tonnes a year, to take advantage of the port’s planned agricultural terminal, which will be able to handle 1.5m tonnes of sugar imports per year.
