Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.EC)  has signed a MoU with StrateSphere Enterprises in collaboration with PolymerOhio and Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) to develop the KAEC Plastics Valley.

PolymerOhio is the association of the world’s leading polymer and plastics manufacturers representing Ohio as a global center of excellence in polymers and advanced materials.

As per the agreement, StrateSphere, a private corporate group with a particular business focus on Industries, and PolymerOhio along with Emaar.EC and 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, said an Emaar.EC official.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz AlSaud 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.EC, and Tariq Farwana, managing director of StrateSphere Enterprises signed the agreement in Jeddah, in the presence of Sami AlHalabi, acting executive director – Commercial, Emaar.EC and other 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, said Al Rasheed.

Emaar.EC will undertake strategic planning to identify the various features of the KAEC Plastics Valley, he noted.

’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,’ Al Rasheed added.

He said the association was doubly significant given the advances that PolymerOhio had 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,’ he pointed out.

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

Sami AlHalabi said the agreement comes as an essential step in the development of the Industrial Zone within KAEC.

“The objective 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,”  he noted.
 
Farwana said KAEC was at the forefront in ushering in a new era of industrial growth in the Kingdom.

’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,’ he added.TradeArabia News Service