Abu Dhabi: Al Gharbia Pipe Company, a joint venture between Senaat and Japanese steel companies, JFE Steel Corporation and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc broke ground on Sunday in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi.

Al Gharbia will be the UAE’s first plant capable of manufacturing large-diameter, thick wall, sour service, longitudinally welded steel pipe to service the oil and gas transportation sector, with the infrastructure and construction sectors as secondary markets.

The plant will be built on a 200,000 square metres plot of land in Kizad and is expected to formally launch operations in 2018, according to Abu Dhabi Ports.

Once fully operational, production capacity is set to reach 240,000 tonnes annually, of which around 40 per cent will be exported to neighbouring markets in the GCC and greater Middle East, as well as North and East Africa.