SPARK approves three-year business plan, 2019 fiscal budget

King Salman Energy Park’s (SPARK) board of directors approved in its first meeting the business plan for 2019-2021 and the fiscal budget for 2019, Saudi Press Agency has reported citing an official statement.

Top management officials were also appointed during the board meeting.

In December, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman broke ground on SPARK project, located in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province.

A 50 square kilometer energy city megaproject, the first phase of SPARK, with an investment of approximately $1.6 billion, will be completed by 2021, Argaam previously reported.

SPARK will have five main regions, the first of which will focus on general manufacturing, electricity and equipment, liquids and chemicals, metal formation, and industrial services.

It will have a dry port area with a capacity of 8 million metric tons of cargo annually, a Saudi Aramco well-drilling and maintaining area, a training area dedicated for 10 training centers that function to raise the skills and build capacity of Saudi national cadres; and finally a residential, commercial and recreational area.

By 2035, the park is expected to contribute more than SAR 22 billion to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), provide up to 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and localize more than 350 new industrial and service facilities, according to earlier news reports.