The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) said that 68 per cent of its purchases, during the past four years, came from 52 local factories, with a growth rate of 720 per cent compared to 2001.

SEC highlighted this during its participation in the 4th Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities (AFED) as a gold sponsor. The exhibition is taking place on February 25 – March 3, 2018, at Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center.

According to SEC, the participation comes as part of its role to display investment opportunities for investors and local and international companies in the field of spare parts and to support and develop the national industries in compliance with the global standards and quality specifications and to work for achieving the objectives of Saudi’s Vision 2030.

The company highlighted that its concern about localizing the local industries comes out of its belief in the quality of the local industry, in addition to the financial savings of more than SR6.7 billion ($1.78 billion) the company has achieved as a result of the transition from copper cables to aluminium cables from 2014 till now.

The company will present three working papers, the first about industrial supply chain, the second about the role of research and development centers in supporting the industry and the third one about SEC’s localization efforts.

AFED 2018 is one of the largest specialized exhibitions in the region. In partnership with the leading national companies, it aims to localize and transfer technologies of manufacturing spare parts, as well as stimulating and developing the local products and establishing strategic relation between the ministry of defence and private sector.

The exhibition also aims to develop competencies and encourage Saudization programs and to attract foreign capital into the industry. – TradeArabia News Service