The Royal Commission in Yanbu (RCY) has signed a lease for an industrial land to establish a factory for titanium sponge production with an estimated cost of SR1.6 billion. The contract was signed by Alaa bin Abdullah Nassif, CEO of the Royal Commission in Yanbu, with the Advanced Metal Industries Complex Ltd., a subsidiary company of Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialization Co. (Tasnee). The company, under the scope of the contract, will also expand the current plant using high-pressure oxidation line technology for the production of titanium dioxide at a cost of SR1.35 billion.
It is expected that the two projects will be completed and start production by 2017. The construction will be next to the current crystal factory in Yanbu Industrial City. The total production of the two projects is likely to reach 15,600 metric tons per year of titanium sponge that goes into many high-tech industries, including all types of aircraft components, along with 120 thousand tons per year of dioxide titanium.
Tasnee has also signed a participation agreement for the establishment of a project for the production of titanium sponge with Toho Japanese Company. The company said that the project will be established in Crystal Complex in Yanbu, with 32.5 percent of the project’s ownership for each of the manufacturing company and Crystal company (belonging to Tasnee), and 35 percent for Toho company.