GE OIL & Gas has broken ground on its multi-modal manufacturing and service facility at the Modon (Saudi Industrial Property Authority) site in the Second Industrial City, Dammam.

This new phase of work will build upon the recent expansion of the GE Oil & Gas Pressure Control manufacturing facility that was inaugurated in late 2015 with additional capabilities to manufacture and service the entire range of the company’s oil and gas portfolio including artificial lift, digital solutions, downstream technology solutions, turbomachinery solutions and subsea.

With the new multi-modal manufacturing centre, GE Oil & Gas is bringing added ‘Made in Saudi’ capabilities. It will serve as a manufacturing, assembly, repair, services and training facility for advanced gas turbines and mechanical drives.

The new 18,000-sq-m facility will also deliver the services of the recently acquired Alstom Grid business, thus offering a full portfolio for customers in the kingdom.

GE Oil & Gas president and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli marked the ground-breaking of the expansion in the presence of Abdulaziz Al Abdulkarim, vice president of procurement and supply chain  management, Saudi Aramco; Rami Qasem, president and CEO, GE Oil & Gas, Mena (Middle East and North Africa) and Turkey; and other senior dignitaries and officials.

Simonelli said: “With over 80 years of partnership in the kingdom, we are committed to strengthening our localised manufacturing, service and repair capabilities and to build our already strong local talent pool.

“The new centre brings cross-functional synergies to our operations in the kingdom and will serve as a one-stop centre for our customers in Saudi Arabia and the region. The integration of all our services at Modon and our continued investments in the kingdom are aimed at supporting the economic goals of the government to promote growth and diversification based on job creation for Saudi nationals and localised manufacturing that enhances Saudi Arabia’s international competitiveness.”

Qasem said: “The work we are starting now at our Modon site marks another important milestone for GE Oil & Gas’ partnership in the kingdom. It underlines our commitment to the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) initiative. We’re extremely proud of our Saudi team and thank our partners for their continued strong support.”

“We are confident that our IKTVA initiative which we launched last December is steadily gaining momentum,” said Al Abdulkarim. “As partners such as GE Oil & Gas are demonstrating, IKTVA is a ‘win-win” proposition for companies able to build a deep and lasting relationship with the kingdom by setting-up shop here in order localise our materials and services’ procurements needs, while supporting economic growth, job creation and skills development in Saudi Arabia,” he added.

The expansion of the GE Oil & Gas Pressure Control manufacturing facility, which opened last November, tripled its capacity.