Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) has embarked on the implementation of a series of mega projects at an estimated cost of SR10 billion, local media reported.
Al-Riyadh daily said costs of the projects to be undertaken by Marafiq in Jubail and Yanbu were estimated at SR2.30 billion and SR7.65 billion respectively, the media said.
In Jubail, Marafiq will build a water desalination plant based on reverse osmosis system (ROS) costing SR850 million for SADARA Chemical Co., a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and US-based Dow Chemical, at Jubail Project 2. The plant will serve one of the biggest petrochemical complexes to be built and run by SADARA whose cost stands at SR75 billion.
Marafiq also has embarked on the implementation of other projects in Jubail, including a ROS-based desalination plant (4) at the cost of SR372 million, expansion of a water pump station at SR120 million, construction of a new water pump station at Matarafiyya area at SR100 million, a rent-to-own housing program at SR420 million, and the company’s HQ project at the cost of SR140 million.
The new expansion projects are said to have come in response to the requirements of the new and existing petrochemical companies in Jubail, which are implementing works at the cost of SR33 billion, of which SR10.15 billion projects represent the share of private sector firms.
The Saudi Arabian Basic Industrial Corporation (SABIC) is reportedly implementing new projects at the cost of SR22.96 billion, including an industrial rubber project for
Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya) at the cost of SR12 billion, a port berth project for petrochemical products (SR1.3 billion), a styrene butadiene acryl project for Arabian Petrochemical Company (Petrochemya) at SR2.25 billion, an expansion project at the Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (Safco 5) at SR2 billion, another project for the National Methanol Company (Ibn Sina) at SR1.9 billion, and SABIC staff housing project at Jalmouda District at the cost of SR3.5 billion.
Marafiq, a Jubail-based joint-stock company, is owned by four major shareholders — the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY), SABIC, Saudi Aramco, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) while the remaining shares go to seven private sector companies. Its primary objective is to provide essential utility services to industrial, commercial and residential customers in the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu.
Marafiq implements SR10bn projects in Jubail and Yanbu
Marafiq implements SR10bn projects in Jubail and Yanbu
Saudi tourism employment surpasses 1m as hospitality sector expands
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s tourism workforce surpassed 1 million in the third quarter of 2025, underscoring the sector’s rapid expansion as the Kingdom continues to develop its hospitality infrastructure and visitor economy.
According to the latest Tourism Establishments Statistics report released by the General Authority for Statistics, the total number of employees in tourism activities reached approximately 1,009,691 in the third quarter of 2025, marking a 6.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024, when employment stood at 948,629.
The growth in employment comes alongside a significant rise in the number of licensed tourism hospitality facilities, which increased by 40.6 percent year on year to reach 5,622 in the third quarter. Of these, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities accounted for 52.6 percent, while hotels represented 47.4 percent.
The robust growth reflected in the latest tourism statistics aligns directly with the goals of Vision 2030, as the Kingdom aims to double tourism’s gross domestic product contribution to 10 percent. The sector is also seeking to create 1.6 million jobs, and attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030.
The report showed that non-Saudi employees made up the majority of the tourism workforce, numbering 764,520 and accounting for 75.7 percent of the total. Saudi nationals employed in the sector reached 245,171, representing 24.3 percent of all tourism workers.
In terms of gender distribution, male employees dominated the sector with 875,658 workers, while female employees totaled 134,033, making up just 13.3 percent of the workforce.
Hotel performance showed positive momentum, with the average room occupancy rate rising to 49.1 percent during the quarter, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from 46.1 percent in the same period a year earlier.
In contrast, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities experienced a slight dip in occupancy, recording 57.4 percent compared to 58 percent in the same quarter of 2024.
The average daily room rate in hotels decreased by 3.6 percent to SR341 ($90.9), down from SR354 in the third quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, serviced apartments and similar facilities saw their average daily rate rise by 4.1 percent to SR208, up from SR200 a year earlier.
The average length of stay in hotels was 4.1 nights, down 1 percent from 4.2 nights in the third quarter of 2024. For serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities, the average stay was 2.1 nights, reflecting a marginal decrease of 0.2 percent year-on-year.
The statistics draw on administrative records, surveys and secondary data to capture activity across the Kingdom’s tourism sector, GASTAT said.
