UAE-based Al Gharbia Pipe Company, a unit of Senaat, has started work on its large-diameter pipe manufacturing plant in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad).
Al Gharbia is a joint venture between Senaat, one of the largest industrial holding companies in the UAE, and two of Japan’s leading companies in the steel sector – JFE Steel Corporation and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc (MISI).
Al Gharbia will be the UAE’s first plant capable of manufacturing large-diameter, thick wall, sour service, longitudinally welded steel pipe to service the oil and gas transportation sector, with the infrastructure and construction sectors as secondary markets, said a statement from the company.
The plant will be built on a 200,000 sq m plot of land in Kizad and is expected to formally launch operations in 2018. Once fully operational, production capacity is set to reach 240,000 tonnes annually, of which around 40 per cent will be exported to neighbouring markets in the GCC and greater Middle East, as well as North and East Africa through Khalifa Port and the excellent road network that the UAE’s infrastructure provides, it added.
Aqeel Madhi, chairman of Al Gharbia, said: “This is a critical milestone in the development of our company, and I look forward to the plant becoming fully operational in the near future.”
“The company is set to become a worldwide benchmark with regards to the manufacturing of welded pipes, both in terms of technology and quality, as well as production efficiency,” he said.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “Abu Dhabi Ports is proud to host Al Gharbia’s plant, which will be the first of its kind in the UAE.”
“The manufacturing facility on Kizad’s Modular Path – connected to Khalifa Port and Abu Dhabi’s highway network to enable the movement of large loads and structures – will help demonstrate the efficiency of the industrial zone’s innovative and integrated transportation infrastructure,” he said.
“The integrated multi-module transportation network offered by Khalifa Port and Kizad will support Al Gharbia in serving their existing and potential customers,” he added.
Al Gharbia is the first industrial venture between the UAE and Japan to take place in the country, and has been strongly supported by the Abu Dhabi-Japan Business Promotion Initiative of the Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East. The initiative supports Japanese companies that invest in projects to strengthen ties between Japan and the UAE. Senaat holds a 51 per cent stake in Al Gharbia, whilst JFE Steel Corporation and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc hold 27 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, it added. – TradeArabia News Service
Al Gharbia Pipe breaks ground for new plant in Kizad
Officials at the ground breaking ceremony
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