Bechtel has signed a five-year contract extension with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu to continue its longstanding management services work at Jubail and Ras Al Khair industrial cities. The Jubail project in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia is recognised as the world’s largest single industrial development project, and is unique as a city built from the sand up, requiring vast resources and logistical planning on an unprecedented scale. Bechtel has worked with the Royal Commission on the Jubail project since it began in the mid-1970s.

"Bechtel is a key part of our team and they have played a major role in helping us to plan and implement the growth of Jubail and Ras Al Khair," said Dr Mosleh Al Otaibi, CEO, Royal Commission for Jubail. "With their help and partnership we will continue to develop these cities which support Saudi Arabia’s economy."

The Jubail Industrial City development spans 1,016 sq km and provides petrochemical and other industrial complexes, major harbour and port facilities, telecommunications, and a highway system. Jubail and Ras Al Khair currently employ an estimated 140,000 people, which is predicted to rise to 190,000 by 2021. Over the next five years, Bechtel’s work will focus on providing residential accommodation and education facilities such as a 18,000-student ‘greenfield’ university as well as roads, bridges, medical centers, and power, water and waste facilities.

"Jubail is one of the world’s iconic engineering projects," said Toby Seay, president of Bechtel’s global infrastructure business. "We’re delighted to build on our successful, longstanding relationship with the Royal Commission, which is based on a strong, collaborative partnership," he added.

Jubail and Ras Al Khair contain Saudi Arabia’s leading petrochemical and minerals clusters and are a main contributor to the country’s economic growth. Jubail currently produces approximately 7 per cent of the world’s petrochemicals.

Bechtel has worked on a number of significant infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia over the last 70 years, including King Fahd and King Khalid airports, and Ras Al Khair aluminium smelter. It is also currently working on Lines 1 and 2 of the Riyadh Metro.

Bechtel is one of the leading EPC companies in the world. The company provides engineering, construction and project management services to diverse industries including energy, transportation, mining, oil and gas, nuclear and government agencies. Its major services include construction, master planning, engineering, procurement, sustainability solutions, startup and operations, technology licensing and consulting and financing and equity investments.

It offers construction services to diverse industries including airports and seaports, communications networks, defense and aerospace facilities, environmental cleanup projects, fossil and nuclear power plants, mines and smelters, oil and gas field development, pipelines, roads and rail systems, and refineries and petrochemical facilities. In the financial year (FY) 2014, Bechtel reported revenue of $37.2 billion, indicating a decline of 5.6 per cent over that for FY2013.