Saudi Arabia’s SPARK breaks ground on $240 million stainless steel tube production facility

King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) has broken ground on a new $240 million stainless steel tube production facility - SeAH Gulf Special Steel Industries (SeAH GSI) - in collaboration with Korean steel manufacturer SeAH CSS. The facility is the first stainless-steel seamless pipes and tubes production facility in Saudi Arabia.

SeAH GSI is a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) and SeAH CSS. The new facility, valued at almost 900 million riyals ($240 million), will span nearly 178,000 square meters and have the operating capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of seamless pipes and tubes per annum. The facility is expected to begin operations in 2025, generating hundreds of job opportunities, said officials at SPARK.

SPARK’s President and CEO, Saif Al Qahtani, said: “As a national megaproject, SPARK is committed to localising the energy supply chain to drive a diverse industrial economy and catalysing the National Industrial Strategy, in line with Vision 2030.”

The production facility will increase the manufacturing of energy-related products in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing the Kingdom’s localisation efforts in line with Saudi Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add Programme.

SeAH GSI CEO Young Soon Kim said: “SeAH GSI plans to produce and supply 20,000 tonnes of high value-added stainless seamless pipes and tubes from this very facility we are building today.” The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Park Joon-Yong, the South Korean Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, and Eng Saif Al Qahtani, President and CEO of SPARK, along with executives from Saudi Aramco, Dussur, SeAH Holding and SPARK.