Saudi Aramco is to build Phase I of the Jazan Economic City Project, the company’s president and CEO, Khalid A Al-Falih, has said.
Speaking at the Jazan Economic Forum in Jazan City, Al Falih said Jazan Economic City will become a key contributor to Saudi Arabia’s economy.
Saudi Aramco will build Phase I of the project which will include smart infrastructure to meet energy, utilities and transportation requirements of a “diverse industrial base”.
“Saudi Aramco has been entrusted to build Jazan’s strategic infrastructure through the development of a refinery and terminal, a power plant, a commercial seaport, a water desalination plant, roads and water and sanitary drainage systems, in addition to connecting electricity,” he said.
Jazan’s rich endowment of mineral and agricultural resources makes it ideal for the region to prosper and thrive into a major economic city in the Kingdom, he added.
Al-Falih also said that Saudi Aramco has taken a pro-active approach to human capital development for the Jazan people by launching a number of training initiatives to create a highly-capable and qualified workforce, drawn primarily from the area’s youth, to fill jobs in all stages of the project.
These skills and training initiatives began in 2014 when Saudi Aramco and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) signed the agreement of the Jazan Contractors Alliance for
Training and Employment, also known as “Maharat” by launching two training institutes.
“The Saudi Aramco – TVTC alliance is an innovative strategic partnership with the refinery project’s contractors to train and employ 5,000 young people from Jazan in various construction-related professions and crafts over four years,” said Al-Falih.
“Longer-term, we aspire for the number of jobs available in Jazan to reach 75,000.”
