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Saudi Arabia Braces for Launching Energy City ‘SPARK,’ Set to Boost GDP by 6%

Saudi Iktva Forum and Exhibition 2018, Omran Haider
Saudi Iktva Forum and Exhibition 2018, Omran Haider
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Saudi Arabia Braces for Launching Energy City ‘SPARK,’ Set to Boost GDP by 6%

Saudi Iktva Forum and Exhibition 2018, Omran Haider
Saudi Iktva Forum and Exhibition 2018, Omran Haider

Saudi Arabia is preparing to launch the King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a company managed by Saudi Aramco, with a $1.6 billion worth of investments allocated for funding its infrastructure.

One of the Saudi Iktva Forum and Exhibition 2018 key organizers, Ahmed Al Ghamidi, said SPARK will create some 100,000 job opportunities for Saudi youth and will contribute some $6 billion to gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

Held November 26-27 the Forum offered presentations, workshops and panels on best practices in navigating such areas as regulatory requirements, financing, R&D and talent development.

The city, which will be developed over 50-square km of land allocated for energy-related industries. SPARK will help localize over 300 new industrial and service facilities, and create a global industrial hub for energy-related manufacturing services.

Facilities offered include a dry port, shared services, a commercial and residential area, and highly specialized training centers.

Ghamidi, addressing an audience at the Aramco-soinsored Iktiva Forum, said that SPARK will not only promote localization but also emerge as the beating heart of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Designed according to world-class standards, the city is strategically located only 40 km away from the oil giant, Aramco headquarters in Damam, and an hour’s drive away from the King Fahd International Airport.

The city is also being erected in proximity to major highways, railways and ports, namely the King Abdul-Aziz Seaport and the GCC Highway & Railway.

“We are working closely with government and non-government organizations to ensure services at the city are provided,” Ghamidi noted saying that SPARK will also host a livable community.

Up to 60 percent of SPARK’s first phase construction contracts, covering a stretch of 13 square kilometers, have been reserved by major international companies, such as the world leading oil and gas technology provider Schlumberger.

Saudi Aramco also plans for two thirds of the city to be an industrial zone to promote local content. The city will also include specialized training centers, a logistics and dry port, shared services and commercial and residential areas.

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Report: Syrian Officials Plan to Attend IMF, World Bank Meetings in Washington

A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Report: Syrian Officials Plan to Attend IMF, World Bank Meetings in Washington

A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's finance minister, foreign minister and central bank chief are planning to attend the annual spring meetings held by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, DC this month, four sources familiar with the plans said.

It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US since former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.

Two of the sources told Reuters it was unclear whether Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh and Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh had yet received visas to the United States.

Spokespeople for the IMF, World Bank, Syrian foreign ministry and Syrian presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The other two sources said a high-level meeting focused on reconstruction efforts for Syria could be held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank meetings.

Syria has been ravaged by nearly 14 years of a war that was sparked by a deadly crackdown on protests against Assad, with much of the country's infrastructure left in ruins.

The government that took over after Assad was ousted has sought to rebuild Syria's ties in the region and further afield, and to win support for reconstruction efforts.

But tough US sanctions imposed during Assad's rule remain in place. In January, the US issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage humanitarian aid, but this has had limited effect. Reuters reported in February that efforts to bring in foreign financing to pay public sector salaries had been hampered by uncertainty over whether this could breach US sanctions.

Last month the US gave Syria a list of conditions to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief but the administration of US President Donald Trump has otherwise engaged little with the country's new rulers.

That is in part due to differing views in Washington on how to approach Syria. Some White House officials have been keen to take a more hardline stance, pointing to the new Syrian leadership's former ties to Al-Qaeda as reason to keep engagement to a minimum, according to diplomats and US sources.