Siemens took the next step towards a massive expansion of its activities in Saudi Arabia, breaking ground on a landmark manufacturing facility for gas turbines and compressors. Planned for completion in late 2013, the center will create job opportunities for young Saudis, serving as a knowledge transfer hub for new Siemens technology and supporting the country’s industrialization drive. The groundbreaking ceremony held under the patronage of H.R.H. Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Governor of the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia, took place in the presence of several government officials, the local partner E.A. Juffali & Brothers, executives from Saudi Electricity Company and Saudi Aramco, as well as high-ranking representatives of Siemens.

The power equipment manufactured at the plant will be supplied to the local Saudi market, where energy requirements are strongly increasing. Siemens and its local partner, E.A. Juffali & Brothers, will invest jointly a three-digit million US Dollar figure in the facility, which will be constructed on a 220,000 square-meter site in Dammam in the Kingdom’s Eastern Region. The manufacturing facility is the first of its kind for Siemens in the Middle East.

"With this new facility, Siemens is clearly strengthening its long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia. We will create qualified jobs and train young Saudis in order to achieve a true transfer of our innovative technologies,” said Michael Suess, CEO of the Energy Sector and member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG.

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