Engie appoints new CEO as it expands Saudi presence
French energy, desalination, utilities and facilities management firm launches dedicated holding company in the Kingdom
ENGIE has appointed Turki Al Shehri as chief executive officer (CEO) to manage the its newly established dedicated holding company for Saudi Arabia.
The move is part of an expansion of its activities in the Kingdom, where it has 2000 employees and over $7.9 Billion of capital investment.
The new local office will bring ENGIE’s global experience closer to its customers, it said in a statement, adding: “Despite delays and potential setbacks that the world experienced as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, ENGIE has managed to keep its expansion in the Kingdom on track building its asset and project value to over $8 billion, with plans to invest in assets worth an additional $6.34 billion in the Kingdom by 2025.”
ENGIE describes itself as a major player in the development of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy, co-generation, energy efficiency and other green initiatives.
Since the beginning of 2020, the firm has won nine new contracts for projects in facilities management, a seawater reverse osmosis plant and projects for the provision of energy services through its service providers and in partnership with Saudi actors.
The awards included Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC)-owned Yanbu-4 independent water producer (IWP) desalination plant which will supply 450,000 m3/day of desalinated seawater using clean energy.
It was also awarded three facilities management projects and five energy efficiency projects within the Kingdom with local partners.
These new projects add $944 million to ENGIE’s existing portfolio of projects and assets, making ENGIE a 10% provider of electricity and an 11% provider potable water in Saudi Arabia, it explained, adding: “ENGIE plans to expand its workforce to over 5,000 employees by 2025 with new hires joining various service providers and project development entities under the domain of ENGIE across the entire Kingdom.
“A key area of ENGIE’s development in Saudi Arabia lies in supporting local talent acquisition and career development through dedicated and continuous training programs to lead the way for value-added services of a foreign company. In this effort, ENGIE has formed three partnerships with local entities including the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and the Ministry of Investment to support with practical and vocational training programs both in and outside of the Kingdom, ensuring that Saudi’s workforce can meet the long-term demand of the labor market.
“Holding steadfast to its commitment to add value, support growth and enrich the Kingdom, ENGIE donated approximately USD 500,000 to the Kingdom’s Health Endowment Fund to support government efforts to mitigate the repercussions of the Coronavirus. ENGIE has also partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to promote and progress the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, further enhancing efforts to build a more prosperous and sustainable future for the Kingdom and its people. ENGIE remains steady in its ambition to develop local projects, bring foreign direct investment to the Kingdom, and enhance the efficiency of human capital while transferring knowledge to the local workforce in line with the Group’s strategy for growth and the objectives of the Vision 2030.”
