King Abdullah Economic City, April 8th, 2011 - Emaar, The Economic City (EEC), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), recently announced the start of construction of a new manufacturing facility for polymer concrete pipes at the Industrial Valley (IV) in King Abdullah Economic City by "Saudi Specialized Pipes". The announcement was made at an inauguration ceremony attended by Sheikh Nabil Krimmley, President of the Saudi Specialized Pipes (SSP), Mr. Labib Chehab, Vice President of SSP, Mr. Ahmed Linjawy, President of the Industrial and City Services Division in Emaar the Economic City (EEC), as well as various members of EEC's executive management and the SSP technical team.

Saudi Specialized Pipes is the first large scale industrial project undertaken in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia specialized in the production of Polymer Reinforced Concrete pipes (PRC). PRC pipes are key component used in sewage and drainage systems meeting a critical need of high performance and high strength pipes in demand for world class infra projects. The new facility to be built on a 30,000 square meter land at a cost of SR 32 Million, is scheduled to be operational by the 3rd quarter of 2011. The plant will create many jobs and develop new skills among Saudi talent in the region.

Saudi Specialized Pipes was founded in 2010 in collaboration with Germany-based Metromax-r-PRC,Germany, one of the world's leading PRC manufacturers with 50 years of industry experience. SSP enjoys a team of Saudi and German professionals, highly skilled engineers and top-rank R&D experts.

Mr. Mazen Kotob, Director of Operations at Krimmley Group said, "The new facility is part of a long-term plan to improve the competitiveness of Saudi Specialized Pipes in the region.  The new facility will be the largest production capacity for PRC in GCC. KAEC's Industrial Valley was chosen from amongst various options to serve Global demand."

According to Mr. Kotob, The new factory will introduce two independent PRC production lines, giving it a competitive edge vs other PRC producers in the GCC.  It enables SS Pipes to serve both local and regional demands.  He stated that, "one of the main reasons we chose the King Abdullah Economic City industrial valley as our location is because of its proximity to the seaport which will allow us to access to over 250 million consumers in Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia."

Mr. Kotob pointed out that with the start of excavation, construction at King Abdullah Economic City Industrial Valley will begin as soon as possible.  This reflects the remarkable level of support and facilitation provided by both the EEC team as well as the Economic Cities Authority through their Smart Services Center. "The Economic City Authority Smart Services Center is another key reason we chose the Industrial Valley as a home."

Mr. Ahmed Linjawy, President of the Industrial and City Services Division in Emaar the Economic City, Commended SSP for their commitment and quick turn-around time. He highlighted that the new factory will greatly expand the Kingdom's capacity to produce and export PRC highly durable pipes and instruments.

Mr. Linjawy commented, "KAEC Industrial Valley currently offers fully serviced land plots at various sizes with electricity, water, sewage network, telecommunications services, paved roads and storm water drain system to prevent flooding. This has been a major need not only of international manufacturers but also of locals who want to expand their operations but cannot find the appropriate size of fully serviced land plots."

Added Mr. Linjawy, "Just recently, EEC announced that the first Phase of the Industrial Valley has been fully leased out, and we have started leasing in the second phase."

KAEC's Industrial Valley aims to be a social and economic enabler for Saudi Arabia, and encourage local and international manufacturers to open large facilities. KAEC is offering business-friendly regulatory benefits, best-in-class and sustainable infrastructure, and proximity to a state-of-the-art seaport on the Western coast of Saudi Arabia. This would make KAEC a strategic hub and the reason why some of the top world class manufacturers have already signed land lease agreements with KAEC.

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© Press Release 2011