Saudi Arabia-based industrial investment company Rawas and China’s Zhejiang Hailiang Company have signed a joint-venture agreement to establish a copper products manufacturing plant in the kingdom.

The joint venture, in which Zhejiang Hailiang will hold 51% and Rawas 49%, plans to invest about $566m in the facility, which will be built near Dammam port in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The factory will be developed in two phases, with total production capacity projected at 150,000 tonnes a year (t/y). This includes 30,000 t/y of copper tubes, 20,000 t/y of copper busbars, 50,000 t/y of refined recycled copper and 50,000 t/y of copper foil.

“The project will fully leverage Saudi Arabia’s local copper ore resources, energy cost advantages and regional policy incentives to serve markets across the Middle East, Europe and Africa,” the partners said in their statement.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Zhejiang Hailiang is a subsidiary of Hailiang Group, one of the world’s largest copper pipe manufacturers and exporters.

Rawas is based in Riyadh. Obeikan Investment Group and Al-Khorayef Group are among its founding shareholders, while other investors include Al-Muhaidib Group and Mohammed Abunayyan Investment Group.