Saudi MODON Signs Contract for First Food Factory in Jeddah

Saudi MODON Signs Contract for First Food Factory in Jeddah
TT

Saudi MODON Signs Contract for First Food Factory in Jeddah

Saudi MODON Signs Contract for First Food Factory in Jeddah

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) signed a contract with Nestlé to allocate a 117,000-square-meter industrial plot in the Jeddah Third Industrial City.

The contract aims to establish the first food factory in the Kingdom, scheduled to open in 2025, with an initial investment of SAR270 million to boost local production, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.

The signing ceremony was held under the patronage and in the presence of Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Chairman of MODON Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, MODON CEO Eng. Majed Al-Argoubi and Nestlé Saudi Arabia CEO Robert Helou.

In its initial phase, the project will focus on producing baby food and launching an automated production line equipped with the latest packaging technologies operated by qualified national food industry personnel.

The project is expected to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs during its first phase, with an initial annual production capacity of 15,000 tons.

In line with the National Industrial Strategy, MODON seeks to boost the food industries sector through the food cluster initiative in Jeddah's second and third industrial cities. The food cluster aims to enhance supply chains and promote exports by providing an integrated and supportive environment, which positively impacts the growth and development of the food industry sector in the region.



Vietnam Puts Typhoon Losses at $1.6 Billion

Residents clean up after flood waters receded in Hanoi on September 13, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Residents clean up after flood waters receded in Hanoi on September 13, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
TT

Vietnam Puts Typhoon Losses at $1.6 Billion

Residents clean up after flood waters receded in Hanoi on September 13, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Residents clean up after flood waters receded in Hanoi on September 13, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Typhoon Yagi caused $1.6 billion in economic losses in Vietnam, state media said Monday, as the UN's World Food Program said the deadly floods it triggered in Myanmar were the worst in the country's recent history.

Yagi battered Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand with powerful winds and a huge dump of rain over a week ago, triggering floods and landslides that have killed more than 400 people, according to official figures.

It tore across Vietnam's densely populated Red River delta -- a vital agricultural region that is also home to major manufacturing hubs -- damaging factories and infrastructure, and inundating farmland.

The typhoon caused an estimated 40 trillion dong ($1.6 billion) in economic losses, state media reported, citing an initial government assessment.

The death toll in Vietnam stands at 292, with 38 missing, more than 230,000 homes damaged and 280,000 hectares of crops destroyed, according to authorities.

In Myanmar, the ruling junta has reported 113 fatalities and said that more than 320,000 people have been forced from their homes into temporary relief camps.

"Super Typhoon Yagi has affected most of the country and caused the worst floods we have seen in Myanmar's recent history," Sheela Matthew, WFP's representative in Myanmar, said in a statement, without giving precise details.

Exact details of the impact on agriculture were not yet clear, she said.

"But I can say for sure that the impact on food security will be nothing less than devastating," Matthew added.

Severe flooding hit Myanmar in 2011 and 2015, with more than 100 deaths reported on both occasions, while in 2008 Cyclone Nargis left more than 138,000 people dead or missing.

The latest crisis has prompted the junta to issue a rare appeal for foreign aid, with neighbor India responding with 10 tons of materials, including dry rations, clothing and medicine.