Saudi Arabia Signs $10.6 Bln Deal to Develop Local Infrastructure

Officials sign the agreement on Saturday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Officials sign the agreement on Saturday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Signs $10.6 Bln Deal to Develop Local Infrastructure

Officials sign the agreement on Saturday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Officials sign the agreement on Saturday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia will invest 40 billion riyals ($10.6 billion) in developing local infrastructure projects, announced the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing.

Under the new agreement, nearly 90 million square meters will be allocated for the local infrastructure projects to provide over 150,000 housing units across 11 cities in an effort to accommodate around 750,000 people.

In addition, nearly 54 million square meters will be allocated for public areas, facilities, parks, road networks and public transport.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of a housing exhibition organized by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing in Riyadh, under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The exhibition is set to run until September 28.

The deal was signed in the presence of Minister of Housing Majid al-Hogail, Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman al-Fadley, and Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh Al-Jasser.

The housing ministry was represented by Undersecretary for Real Estate Development Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Al-Taweel, while the National Housing Company was represented by CEO of NHC Eng Mohammad bin Saleh Al-Bati.

The company is the leading enabler of the real estate development sector and the largest major developer of suburbs and residential communities, and aims to increase the real estate supply in the Kingdom with various housing options.

This comes as part of the company’s efforts to achieve the objectives of the housing program as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, by raising the proportion of housing ownership for Saudi families to 70 percent.



Exports from Libya's Hariga Oil Port Stop as Crude Supply Dries Up, Say Engineers

A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
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Exports from Libya's Hariga Oil Port Stop as Crude Supply Dries Up, Say Engineers

A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)

The Libyan oil export port of Hariga has stopped operating due to insufficient crude supplies, two engineers at the terminal told Reuters on Saturday, as a standoff between rival political factions shuts most of the country's oilfields.

This week's flare-up in a dispute over control of the central bank threatens a new bout of instability in the North African country, a major oil producer that is split between eastern and western factions.

The eastern-based administration, which controls oilfields that account for almost all the country's production, are demanding western authorities back down over the replacement of the central bank governor - a key position in a state where control over oil revenue is the biggest prize for all factions.

Exports from Hariga stopped following the near-total shutdown of the Sarir oilfield, the port's main supplier, the engineers said.

Sarir normally produces about 209,000 barrels per day (bpd). Libya pumped about 1.18 million bpd in July in total.

Libya's National Oil Corporation NOC, which controls the country's oil resources, said on Friday the recent oilfield closures have caused the loss of approximately 63% of total oil production.