Saudi Aramco has taken further steps to secure resources for its projects by implementing plans to create national champion contractors. The state oil major has signed agreements with six joint ventures for the engineering, procurement and construction of new projects in the kingdom.

READ MORE: Saudi clients compete for contractors

The agreements were signed on 5 July as part of Aramco’s Namaat industrial investment programme. The joint ventures comprise both local and international partners.

Altogether, Aramco has now signed 55 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) as part of its Namaat programme, which as well as securing resources, also aims to support industrial investment partnerships, help create jobs for Saudi nationals, and contribute to national growth and capacity building.

Nineteen of the 22 MoUs signed last year have now reached fruition, with a total investment of $3.5bn. 

The other agreements signed on 5 July include:

• Honeywell – Joint venture to develop and implement digital technology solutions across industrial facilities
• Armorock and AlKifah Precast – Joint venture to localise the use of polymers in concrete production
• Shell & AMG Recycling and United Company for Industry (UCI) – Signing of the Vanadium concentrate sales agreement, enabling the construction of an in-kingdom metal reclamation and catalyst manufacturing facility
• Accenture, Al-Gihaz Holding and Impulse Partners – Consortium for establishing and operating the Spark Digital Centre.

“Namaat enables Aramco to be a catalyst for change across the kingdom’s economy, while maintaining our reliability as a global energy supplier at a time of market uncertainty. Our collaboration with industry leaders in areas of strategic importance for the kingdom demonstrates how Aramco is creating National Champions that will bring long-term benefits to our value chain, our economy and our people,” said Ahmad al-Saadi, senior vice-president of technical services at Aramco.

The Namaat programme aims to enable opportunities for local and international companies, and leverage various incentives offered through the government’s Shareek programme and other initiatives.

The Shareek programme aims to facilitate SR5bn ($1.35tn) of private sector investment in the kingdom by the end of 2030.