Saudi Aramco Plans to Set up New Construction Unit

State oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to set up a new construction company with local and international partners to build non-oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, reported Reuters, citing senior industry sources.

Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is expected to be part of the newly created company, which will eventually have thousands of employees, stated sources.

Local companies including Nesma & Partners, Al Rashid Trading & Contracting Company, Azmeel Contracting, El Seif Engineering, have welcomed the plan and expressed interest in the project, stated the report.

International groups too such as Turkey's Tekfen and South Korea's Posco, Daewoo and Samsung C&T have expressed interest in the new construction venture.

Both the local and global firms are keen to form consortiums for the coveted project, it added.

The plan illustrates how state-owned Aramco is involving itself in sectors far beyond oil as it plays a key role in the Saudi Vision 2030 masterplan to diversify the economym, said the Reuters report.

In May, Saudi Aramco had signed a deal with US-based Jacobs Engineering to set up a management company for strategic construction projects in the kingdom; the PIF is also part of that deal, it added.

Source: Trade Arabia