Bechtel has signed a five-year contract extension to continue its longstanding management services work at Jubail and Ras Al Khair industrial cities, which contain Saudi Arabia’s leading petrochemical and minerals clusters and are a main contributor to the Kingdom’s economic growth.
Jubail, which currently produces approximately 7 percent of the world’s petrochemicals, is recognized as the world’s largest single industrial development project. US-based Bechtel has worked with the Royal Commission on the project since it began in the mid-1970s.
“Bechtel is a key part of our team and they have played a major role in helping us to plan and implement the growth of Jubail and Ras Al Khair,” said Dr. Mosleh Al-Otaibi, CEO, Royal Commission for Jubail. “With their help and partnership we will continue to develop these cities which support Saudi Arabia’s economy.”
The Jubail industrial city development spans 1,016 km² and provides petrochemical and other industrial complexes, major harbor and port facilities, telecommunications, and a highway system. Jubail and Ras Al Khair currently employ an estimated 140,000 people, which is predicted to rise to 190,000 by 2021.
Over the next five years, Bechtel’s work will focus on providing residential accommodation and education facilities such as a 18,000-student ‘greenfield’ university as well as roads, bridges, medical centers, and power, water and waste facilities.
Bechtel has worked on a number of significant infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia over the last 70 years, including King Fahd and King Khalid airports, and Ras Al Khair aluminum smelter. It is also currently working on Lines 1 and 2 of the Riyadh Metro.