Saudi Energy Consortium to Obtain USD 5.6 Billion for Financial Closure

Saudi ports handled 814,000 standard containers in August, including transshipment containers. (SPA)
Saudi ports handled 814,000 standard containers in August, including transshipment containers. (SPA)
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Saudi Energy Consortium to Obtain USD 5.6 Billion for Financial Closure

Saudi ports handled 814,000 standard containers in August, including transshipment containers. (SPA)
Saudi ports handled 814,000 standard containers in August, including transshipment containers. (SPA)

Information on Tuesday revealed that the consortium of companies owning the Jazan Gasification and Energy Production Complex in Jazan Economic City, which includes the oil giant Aramco, is in the process of obtaining financing worth about USD 5.6 billion for the financial closure.

Sources quoted by CNBC Arabia said that the total debt in financing the project amounted to about USD 7.2 billion, while the other part would be financed through a soft loan from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, at a value of USD 1.6 billion.

According to the sources, around 22 local banks will compete to provide financing. Standard Chartered and French Capital would provide financial advisory services, while White & Case would present deliver advisory services to Aramco.

According to official data, the ownership structure of the project is distributed to the American company Air Products by about 46%, Aramco by about 20%, and ACWA Power by about 25%.

The new project – an integrated power plant with gasification and combined cycle technologies in Jazan – will have a production capacity of around 3800 megawatts of electricity, about 184,000 cubic meters of hydrogen per hour, and steam at about 585,000 tons per hour.

Meanwhile, Saudi ports handled 814,000 standard containers in August, including transshipment containers, registering an increase of 20.4 percent, by more than 457,000 standard containers. Cargo handled amounted to more than 25 million tons, while the number of ships witnessed an increase of 8.1 percent, by 1,119 ships.

According to the statistical index issued by the General Authority of Ports, Saudi Ports achieved a remarkable increase of 134.7% in the total number of passengers (by 70,000 passengers), in addition to a rise in the number of cars by 61.7 percent, representing an increase of 74,000 cars.



Russian Gunpowder Factory Attacked, Ukrainian Official Says

A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
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Russian Gunpowder Factory Attacked, Ukrainian Official Says

A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)
A man walks at the site of shelling, which local officials called a Ukrainian military strike, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on January 10, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)

A major Russian gunpowder factory in the Tambov region was attacked, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday, without directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility or specifying the consequences of the attack.

"The enterprise is one of the main suppliers of explosive materials for the army of the Russian Federation," Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, wrote on Telegram of the powder factory.

"With the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, production at the plant increased significantly," he added, Reuters reported.

There was no immediate public comment from Russia on the attack on the factory.

Separately, Ukraine's military said it had hit the Liskinska oil depot in Russia's Voronezh region overnight.

"According to the available information, at least three strike drones hit the target. A large-scale fire broke out at the facility," a military statement on the Telegram app said.

Russian authorities had said earlier that debris from falling Ukrainian drones had caused a fire at the facility.

Ukraine and Russia have regularly attacked military production facilities deep inside each other's territory in the course of their war.