Via the ’Saudi Gazette’ proceed with caution / state run publication:
RESUMPTION of work on a multi-million-dollar petrochemical project in Yanbu, interrupted by an attack that killed six Westerners, is being held up by a contractual dispute, a spokesman said Friday. Many of the expatriate staff of Houston-based ABB Lummus who left the country after the May 1 shooting spree at thr petrochemical plant are on standby to return, the spokesman told AFP, requesting anonymity. But we have a contractual dispute with the company for which we re carrying out the project ... partly over who will pay for the demobilization and remobilization of our staff, as well as the increased security we will put in place, he said. The spokesman, in neighboring Bahrain, denied that the row may have resulted from ABB Lummus pulling out of the project or demanding higher fees from the Saudi firm as a security premium. He said his company intended to carry on the expansion project, but the dispute was delaying its completion, initially slated for the end of the year. |