GE has announced a wide range of strategic partnerships and localisation initiatives in Saudi Arabia that are expected to lead to billions of dollars of new investment from the US firm.

GE says it is partnering with Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (SAIIC), Saudi Aramco, Cividale, Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC), Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation (MiSK), Asharqia Chamber, National Industrial Clusters Development Programme (NICDP), Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group (HMG) and SaudiVax.

The partnerships have been formed to support the development goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.

The agreements announced are:

• GE, Saudi Aramco and Cividale will build a $400m forging and casting manufacturing facility. It will supply the kingdom and other global markets with forged and cast materials for the marine and energy industries. The facility will be operational by 2020 and create over 2,000 new local jobs.
• GE Aviation is working with MEPC to develop a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for select Saudi military engines. GE and MEPC also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore using GE’s Industrial Internet platform, Predix, for a depot in Saudi Arabia.
• GE is partnering with Modon to digitise 10 factories to strengthen operational efficiency and productivity.
• GE’s energy start-up Current is establishing a GE Centre of Excellence for LED Luminaire Manufacturing at the GE Manufacturing & Technology Centre in Dammam. It will be operational in late 2016.
• GE is launching an exclusive Saudi Leadership Academy in partnership with MiSK. The high-level training programme will be held for Saudi youth in the kingdom and at GE’s Crotonville facility in the US.
• GE has signed an agreement with the Asharqia Chamber to organise GE Garages-led training workshops for Saudi women in industry. The training will cover in-depth sessions on 3D printing and design, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling, injection moulding, and other industrial programmes. Additional digital training programmes will enable them to develop industrial software applications on Predix. GE aims to train 1,000 women in the next five years.
• GE has started a design study with SaudiVax for a multipurpose Vaccine & Monoclonal Antibody Facility in Riyadh that will help develop a full-fledged life sciences industry in the kingdom and create more than 1,500 new jobs.
• HMG and GE Healthcare will jointly deliver radiology services with the goal of driving productivity and strengthening the efficiency of the healthcare sector across the kingdom.

The new initiatives build on the $1bn investment delivered by the company in the past three years in Saudi Arabia. It will also:

• Double GE’s workforce in the kingdom from 2,000 to 4,000 by 2020.
• Double GE’s Saudi supplier base from 150 to 300 to build a strong supply chain that supports GE’s local manufacturing facilities.
• Double leadership, technical and engineering training across sectors to over 10,000 Saudi professionals through local and global programmes.
• Focus on achieving in excess of $100m in value of exports of products and services from GE to different parts of the world including the US and Europe.