SAGIA and Ma'aden form agreements to promote investment opportunities in the mining sector

HE Amr Al Dabbagh, Governor of SAGIA and Dr. Abdullah Al Dabbagh, President and CEO of Ma'aden attended the workshop.

Business plans were presented to initiate methods of mutual cooperation to assist both parties in achieving their objectives. Both parties agreed to focus on a number of initiatives, one of which was to provide the Ras Al Zour area, where Madden plans to set up large industrial facilities, with a package of incentives designed for lesser-developed areas. These incentives are being forged in coordination with related ministries to achieve a balanced development in all areas in the Kingdom.

It was also agreed to identify and promote investment opportunities in vertical industries dependent on Ma'aden's by-products. Importance was given to marketing and communication of these opportunities to Saudi and foreign investors, and to provide facilities and support to expedite Ma'aden's investment projects in Ras Al Zour area via finalizing the procedures related to investments in these projects for their high revenue income to Saudi economy.

Ma'aden and SAGIA agreed to allocate a communications contact person to follow-up on the task forces responsible for implementation of these initiatives and to hold bi-annual meetings between both managements to review progress and deliverables.

The agreement with Ma'aden complements SAGIA's strategy to foster development of specific sectors known for their competitive advantage in KSA, such as energy, petrochemicals, water and electricity and highly consumed energy industries like mining.

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) was established under a Royal decree in 1997 as a joint venture owned wholly by the government with a capital of $1.1 billion. It is considered one of the key players in the development of mining industry in the Kingdom and owns Mahid gold mines and Sukhaybrat mines with some more mining licenses for precious minerals.

The workshop was also attended by Eng. Abdullah Basfar, Projects Vice President, Ma'aden; Mr. Abdullah Al Falaj, Vice President for Finance, Ma'aden, Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Sadoun, Head of Energy Sector, SAGIA and Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Babutain, Head of Transportation Sector, SAGIA.