Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C), the company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), has signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) with StrateSphere Enterprises and PolymerOhio to develop KAEC Plastics Valley as global centre of excellence.

As per the agreement, StrateSphere and PolymerOhio, the association of the world’s leading polymer and plastics manufacturers representing Ohio as a global center of excellence in polymers and advanced materials, along with Emaar.E.C and Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) will pursue the development of KAEC Plastics Valley.

The goal is to position KAEC Plastics Valley as a global center of excellence in the plastics sector, like Ohio.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz Al Saud unveiled the KAEC Plastics Valley, a key component of the Industrial Zone, during his recent tour of the mega-project.

Fahd Al-Rasheed, board member and chief executive officer, Emaar.E.C, and Tariq Farwana, managing director of StrateSphere Enterprises, a private corporate group with a particular business focus on industries, signed the agreement in Jeddah, in the presence of Sami AlHalabi, acting executive director – commercial, Emaar.E.C; and other Emaar.E.C officials.

The details of the current collaboration with StrateSphere and PolymerOhio will be announced during the Global Competitiveness Forum to be held in Riyadh in January 2009. In the meantime, Emaar.E.C will undertake strategic planning to identify the various features of the KAEC Plastics Valley, said a statement.

Al-Rasheed said: “The twinning memorandum of understanding will ensure that the knowledge base of Ohio’s plastic manufacturers is seamlessly transferred to KAEC plastics industries thus creating a parallel hub for the industry. The association is doubly significant given the advances that PolymerOhio has made in sustainable thinking and strategies for the plastics industry. These best practices will serve as a model for KAEC to develop the Plastics Valley.”

Ohio’s polymer industry has over 2,800 companies that collectively position Ohio as a global centre of excellence in plastics and advanced materials production, plastics products manufacturing, research and development and educational programmes.

Al Halabi said: “The agreement comes as an essential step in the development of the Industrial Zone within KAEC. It further builds on the initiative of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz AlSaud in unveiling the KAEC Plastics Valley during his recent tour of the mega-project.”

He added: “The objective of the KAEC Plastics Valley is to position KAEC as the regional hub for the fast-growing plastics industry by employing sustainable growth technologies. Several plastics industries are expected to set base in the Plastics Valley cluster shortly with investments expected from several countries across the world.”
 
Farwana of StrateSphere explained: “KAEC is at the forefront in ushering in a new era of industrial growth in the Kingdom, and the partnership with PolymerOhio will ensure that the project has a truly world-class polymer industry. This will act as a hub in attracting investments from across the region to KAEC Plastics Valley.”

KAEC is the single largest private sector development project in the region and has six zones: the Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Central Business District, Educational Zone, Resort District and Residential Communities.
The first phase of the project including phases of the Industrial Zone, Sea Port and Residential Communities has been launched to strong investor response. Work on the project is currently ongoing at an accelerated pace. - TradeArabia News Service