Pharmaline Saudi Arabia to open first plant in 2016

Pharmaline Saudi Arabia and King Abdullah Economic City have signed a land lease agreement, which will allow the pharmaceutical company to build its first plant in the kingdom in 2016.

The agreement comes as Saudi Arabia continues to look for ways to diversify the economy amid slumping oil prices, and a projected shortfall of job opportunities in the future.

“This new project will strengthen our presence in the Saudi market, help meet growing demand in the healthcare sector in the kingdom, and create job opportunities for young Saudis,” Saad Bin AbdulRahman Al-Rashed, chairman of Pharmaline said in a statement.

The company did not mention the total value or cost of the project.

Saudi Arabia leads the Gulf region with 65 percent of total demand for pharmaceutical products, but currently meets just 25 percent of that demand.

The facility, which will sit on 60,000 square meters of land in Phase 1 of the Industrial Valley, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016.

The plan is part of an expansion for the pharmaceutical company, which aims to make the plant a regional hub.