HD KSOE breaks ground on marine engine plant in Saudi Arabia

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) said on Sunday its joint venture Makeen has broken ground on a marine engine plant in Saudi Arabia. With the deal, HD KSOE, an intermediate holding firm of South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Co., will earn royalties for engine technologies from global shipbuilders for the first time.

HD KSOE established the JV with Saudi's state-run oil producer Aramco and Riyadh-based investment firm Dussur. The factory will be constructed on a 150,000-square-meter lot in King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex, a shipyard in Ras Al-Khair, Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The plant will begin commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2025 and supply marine engines to global shipbuilders, including International Maritime Industries (IMI). IMI is set to complete construction of the Middle East’s largest shipyard on a 5-million-square-meter lot by the end of this year.  

IMI is a JV by HD KSOE, Aramco, Saudi's state-owned shipping company Bahri and a United Arab Emirates-based construction firm Lamprell. The entity was founded in 2017.

The factory will produce up to 30 large marine engines, 235 mid-sized engines and 160 marine pumps a year. It is also considering the production of dual-fuel engines, which use eco-friendly technology that can reduce greenhouse gases.

The facilities will procure a significant amount of components for the engines from Korea, industry sources said.

It will mark the first overseas manufacturing of HiMSEN engines. The engines, developed by HD KSOE affiliate HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., are exported to about 40 countries and top the global mid-sized marine engine market with more than a 40% share.

It is significant that HD KSOE will become a licensor with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' in-house technologies, said Han Young-seuk, vice chairman of HD Hyundai Heavy. The company will step up the expansion of its presence in the global marine engine market, Han added.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.