Haradh Gas-Oil Separation Plant at night


and the $10 billion King Abdullah Financial District is destined to become a new city centre for Riyadh.


Oil & gas Saudi Arabia plans to spend $170 billion over the next five years on energy and oil refining projects, $90 billion of which is to come directly from Saudi Aramco. These investments are in line with the Kingdom’s plans to increase production capacity, as well as refining and marketing, in addition to directing an increased proportion of these investments to gas projects.


Getting aboard rail In Saudi Arabia, three massive railways schemes are currently under construction, including the 950- kilometre, $7 billion Saudi Landbridge Project. Scheduled for completion in 2014, it will provide freight and passenger services between Jeddah on the east coast and the west-coast oil hub of Dammam, passing through the industrial city of Jubail and the capital, Riyadh. A high-speed, 440km, $5 billion line


(the Haramain line) will be constructed to connect Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and the campus of the new King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), north of Jeddah, with Mecca and Medina. Work has also begun in the


Kingdom on the 2400km, $14 billion North-South Railway. It is primarily designed to integrate the country’s


Saudi Arabia Pavilion of Expo 2010, night view. Photo by: Kimon Berlin AUSTRALIA AND THE ARAB COUNTRIES | 2010 107


mineral reserves, including bauxite and phosphate mines. General freight and passenger transport is also planned.


Investment climate The Government’s strategy to make the Kingdom more attractive to foreign investment appears to be bearing fruit, although many obstacles still remain, such as easier visa issuance. In 2008 Saudi Arabia topped the


list of Arab and regional countries in attracting foreign direct investment − over $38 billion. Foreign companies can now have


full ownership in certain sectors. For instance, in 2010, New Zealand company Fonterra, one of the biggest global dairy products companies, moved from 49 per cent to 100 per cent ownership of its Saudi Arabian manufacturing operations with a NZ$45m buyout of its former Saudi partner.


Australia and Saudi Arabia As Australia’s second largest market in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner for Australia. In 2008-09, Australia’s merchandise exports to Saudi Arabia totalled over A$2.2 billion, making it our 16th largest market. It is a major market for passenger motor vehicles, barley, meat and live animals. Australian imports totalled $933m, the main items being crude petroleum, fertilisers and liquefied propane & butane. Saudi Arabia has cut back on wheat-


growing subsidies over the past decade due to the effect on water reserves. For the first time in about 20 years, the Kingdom will become a net wheat importer this year. Australia is expected to be a major supplier, depending on the nation's export availability, as its hard wheat is in demand. Australia has also become a major


destination of Saudi students, with 12,505 enrolled at the end of 2009, thanks in part to the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, compared to only 1035 in 2005. Saudi Arabia is also looking to Australia for assistance with its vocational education development. There are over 3000 Australian citizens employed in Saudi Arabia, mainly in health, education and other specialist areas.


Peter Deacon


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