SeAH GSI – a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) and the leading Korean steel manufacturer  SeAH CSS – has broken ground on its first-of-its-kind stainless-steel seamless pipes and tubes production facility in Saudi Arabia.

The new plant, being built at a total investment of SR900 million ($240 million), will come up on a 178,000-sq-m area within King Salman Energy Park (Spark), a leading energy industrial ecosystem located in the Eastern Province. It is scheduled to begin operations in 2025.

The groundbreaking comes following the signing of a deal between Spark and SeAH GSI in September last year to develop the production facility, which will increase the manufacturing of energy-related products in Saudi Arabia, thus reinforcing the kingdom’s localisation efforts in line with Saudi Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) programme and National Industrial Strategy, as part of Vision 2030.

The ceremony was attended by Park Joon-yong, the South Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Engineer Saif Al Qahtani, President and CEO of Spark, along with top executives from Saudi Aramco, Dussur, SeAH Holding and Spark.

On completion, the facility will have the operating capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of seamless pipes and tubes per annum.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Al Qahtani said: “At Spark, we aim to facilitate a world-class ecosystem that enables growth and encourages innovation for local and international investors. I am confident that the resources provided at the energy park will allow SeAH GSI to thrive and succeed as it enters a new chapter in its expansion journey.”

“As a national megaproject, we are committed to localising the energy supply chain to drive a diverse industrial economy, catalysing the National Industrial Strategy, in line with Vision 2030,” he added.