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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Support Future Economies, Bridge Digital Divides

Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, at the event in Bali. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, at the event in Bali. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Support Future Economies, Bridge Digital Divides

Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, at the event in Bali. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, at the event in Bali. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said on Thursday the Kingdom has taken bold steps to support future economies and innovation.

The minister revealed efforts to bridge the digital divide and to foster green energy projects in the northwestern NEOM region.

He stressed that the Kingdom’s presidency of the G20 in 2020 led to the transformation of the digital economy team into a permanent working group, to seize the opportunities provided by the sector and increase development and economic growth rates of the G20 members.

Al-Swaha made his comments during his participation in the meeting of digital economy ministers under Indonesia’s presidency of the G20 in Bali. The event saw the participation of ICT ministers and experts in group member states.

The minister noted that Saudi Vision 2030 was keen on supporting Saudi women as an important contributor to the development of the homeland.

In this regard, he said Saudi Arabia has improved women empowerment, from 7% in 2017 to over 30% in 2022, adding that his country was seeking to train more than 600 women in the Middle East and North Africa, as part of its cooperation with Apple Developer Academy.

Al-Swaha also pointed to innovative efforts in bridging the digital gap and enhancing green energy projects in NEOM.

He praised the outcomes of Saudi Arabia’s presidency for the G20, which resulted in changing the G20 Digital Economy Task Force (DETF) into the Digital Economy Work Group (DEWG), and “played an appreciated role in seizing opportunities provided by the digital economy and increasing development rates and economic growth for G20 countries.”

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GE Vernova Rolls Out First H-Class Gas Turbine in Saudi Arabia

In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova
In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova
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GE Vernova Rolls Out First H-Class Gas Turbine in Saudi Arabia

In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova
In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova

In the presence of Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, GE Vernova Inc. has announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam in an official ceremony held at GESAT.

GESAT, a joint investment with Dussur, is the first facility in Saudi Arabia and the region to manufacture H-Class gas turbines and components.

The first locally completed H-Class unit is set to power the Jafurah Cogeneration Independent Steam and Power Plant (ISPP), which once operational is anticipated to be the most efficient power plant in Saudi Arabia.

By 2030, the entire Jafurah gas field is expected to produce up to 630,000 barrels of natural gas liquids and condensates, as well as over 420 million standard cubic feet (MMSCFD) of ethane per day.

The successful rollout of the locally completed gas turbine at GESAT is a significant milestone in the Kingdom’s energy sector and contributes to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification and local skills development initiatives, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 goals.

The rollout underscores GE Vernova’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge technology products to support both the Kingdom’s energy needs and its sustainability goals.

President of GE Vernova in Saudi Arabia Hisham Al-Bahkali said: “We are incredibly proud of GESAT’s accomplishments in driving industrial localization within the Kingdom’s energy sector in support of Saudi Vision 2030.”

He added: “GESAT strengthens ‘Made in Saudi’ capabilities and, since 2018, has exported 200+ accessory modules for power plants generating more than 11 GW.”

Renowned for their high efficiency and performance, GE Vernova’s H-class gas turbines offer one of the most cost-effective conversions of natural gas to electricity in their class, and support flexible power generation needs across the Middle East.

“The high efficiency and hydrogen readiness of our H-class turbines can support the country’s energy transition, as the turbines can rapidly ramp up or down to support grid stability as more intermittent renewables are integrated into the energy system,” said Joseph Anis, president and CEO of GE Vernova’s Gas Power business in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

To further support the Kingdom’s economic diversification and export capabilities, GE Vernova also signed an MoU with Saudi EXIM that aims at enabling the export of goods and services of GE Vernova from Saudi Arabia through lending and insurance support from Saudi EXIM Bank.

Since inception, GESAT has been set up to deliver technology products for export from the Kingdom, and this MoU aims to further enable export projects. The signing was done by Eng. Saad Alkhalb, CEO of Saudi Exim Bank, and Hisham Al Bahkali, President of GE Vernova for Saudi Arabia.

GE Vernova spun-off from GE and began trading as an independent company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 2, 2024. With approximately 55,000 wind turbines and 7,000 gas turbines, GE Vernova's technology helps generate about 25% of the world's electricity and has a meaningful role to play in the energy transition.