The Saudi government approved a $100 million (SR375 million) loan draft on Sunday for the prompt completion of work on the 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Project in Pakistan.
The approval was made during a meeting between Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) representatives and a Pakistani delegation at the SIDF headquarters.
The SDF representatives included Saud Al-Basan, Abdullah Al-Shaibi, Bander and Muhammad Haneebi. The Pakistani delegation included Raghib Abbas Shah, chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA); Haseeb Athar, additional secretary economic affairs division and Muhammad Zubair, CEO Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Project.
Pakistani Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan said: "The bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Pakistan are historically and internationally close. We have prepared a comprehensive road map for Saudi-Pakistan relations and it is being examined in various departments of the Saudi government. It covers almost every sector including economic, trade, political, education and many others," he said.
He added that the roadmap will enhance the bilateral relationship in various fields, leading to the opening of other non-traditional areas. "Saudi-Pakistan relationships have a great future," he said.
Wassem Hayat Bajwa, commercial attache at Pakistani Embassy, said: "This agreement is of vital importance as Pakistan is going through a severe energy crisis and is in dire need of financial assistance." He added: "The Neelum-Jhelum project is in the last phase and with this assistance it will be completed next year." The formal signing of the loan agreement has been scheduled for September.
Pakistan to receive SR375m SIDF loan for power project
Pakistan to receive SR375m SIDF loan for power project
Work suspended on Riyadh’s massive Mukaab megaproject: Reuters
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has suspended planned construction of a colossal cube-shaped skyscraper at the center of a downtown development in Riyadh while it reassesses the project's financing and feasibility, four people familiar with the matter said.
The Mukaab was planned as a 400-meter by 400-meter metal cube containing a dome with an AI-powered display, the largest on the planet, that visitors could observe from a more than 300-meter-tall ziggurat — or terraced structure —inside it.
Its future is now unclear, with work beyond soil excavation and pilings suspended, three of the people said. Development of the surrounding real estate is set to continue, five people familiar with the plans said.
The sources include people familiar with the project's development and people privy to internal deliberations at the PIF.
Officials from PIF, the Saudi government and the New Murabba project did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Real estate consultancy Knight Frank estimated the New Murabba district would cost about $50 billion — roughly equivalent to Jordan’s GDP — with projects commissioned so far valued at around $100 million.
Initial plans for the New Murabba district called for completion by 2030. It is now slated to be completed by 2040.
The development was intended to house 104,000 residential units and add SR180 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP, creating 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030, the government had estimated previously.
(With Reuters)
