Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a standard Musataha agreement (SMA) with Al Gharbia Pipe Company to invest a projected total of Dh1.1 billion ($299.5 million) in a new pipe manufacturing facility at Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad).

The advanced facility will cater to the region’s oil and gas industry, manufacturing high quality, sour grade longitudinal submerged arc welding (LSAW) steel pipes, said a statement from Abu Dhabi Ports.

The facility will require a plot size of 200,000 sq m, and will employ over 370 staff, and is also expected to produce up to 240,000 tonnes of steel pipes a year, it added.

Al Gharbia Pipe Company, a joint venture between Senaat, one of the largest industrial holding companies in the UAE, and two of Japan’s leading steel firms, JFE Steel Corporation and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. (MISI), expects the facility to be completed by March 2018.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “The exceptional infrastructure and transportation network offered by Kizad will make a significant difference to Al Gharbia’s business operations.”

“The new facility will create business opportunities and jobs in the emirate, directly supporting Abu Dhabi’s vision of a diversified economy”, he added.

Al Gharbia Pipe Company will utilise Kizad’s Modular Path, integrated with Abu Dhabi’s highway network to enable the movement of large loads and structures to the city and throughout the rest of the emirate and region as a whole.

Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, acting chief executive officer at Senaat, said: “By housing our production facilities at a strategic location like Kizad, we will be able to utilise a range of world-class services and infrastructure which will allow us to improve delivery time and service to our customers in the region.”

Takafumi Nishiuma, vice president of JFE Steel, said:  “With the ongoing growth of the oil and gas sector in the region, the demand for high-quality steel pipes is expected to expand steadily. We see huge opportunities in this market and in particular in the UAE.” – TradeArabia News Service