OREANDA-NEWS.  GE Oil & Gas (NYSE: GE) today celebrated the ground-breaking of a new facility that will further expand its presence in the UAE in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).

Scheduled to open in 2015, the new facility spreads over an area of 22,700 sqm and can accommodate over 300 employees. A milestone in the expansion of GE Oil & Gas in the country and the region, the new facility will offer services by GE Oil & Gas’ various business units, thus strengthening customer service standards.

Housed in a customized state-of-the-art facility developed by Jafza, the new GE Oil & Gas Manufacturing & Technology Center will offer tailored training programs, and also feature a dedicated repair center that will help improve the speed of service delivered by being closer to the customers.

Rami Qasem, President & CEO of GE Oil & Gas for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, marked the ground-breaking for the facility in the presence of Talal Al Hashimi, Chief Operating Officer of Economic Zones World, Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi, Deputy CEO of Jafza and Chief Commercial Officer of Economic Zones World, and other senior officials of Jafza and GE. A project overview of the facility and its features was presented to the attendees during the ceremony.

Rami Qasem said: “We thank the Jafza authorities for their support on this milestone event for GE Oil & Gas in the region. The new facility underlines our commitment to the UAE, where we have a presence for over eight decades. It will also help strengthen our operational efficiency while contributing to enhanced customer service standards. Jebel Ali’s central location will enable to reach out to our customers across the MENAT region and beyond swiftly and effectively.”

Ibrahim Al Janahi said: “The strategic location of Jebel Ali Free Zone and the robust performance of the economy have further defined our credentials as the go-to investment destination in the UAE. The opening of the GE Oil & Gas facility complements our focus on diversifying our customer and partner profile by providing businesses across different economic sectors the right environment to grow and flourish.”

Scheduled for completion early next year, the new facility of GE Oil & Gas in Dubai will act as the hub for its key businesses and will be one of the largest such facilities of GE in the region. It will have a dedicated administrative block, workshops, conference rooms and employee welfare amenities.

The repair center will enable GE Oil & Gas and its different businesses to promptly offer customer service to regional partners, in addition to creating solutions that meet local requirements. The new facility will ensure repair of all wireline equipment with faster turnaround times, provide technical support on and offsite for its partners, undertake data interpretation and offer maintenance training.

Highlighting GE’s commitment to environment sustainability, the building aims to win a LEED certification from the US Green Building Council. Among the key sustainability features include energy efficient lighting across the offices and workshops, daylight controls and movement detectors for lighting, wash rooms fitted with dual flush systems, lower water use appliances and water metering provisions, local vegetation for landscaping, water leak detection systems and detection controls for basin taps, among others.

Among other features of the new building will be the After Market Center (AMC) of GE Oil & Gas, which offers the ValvFAST quick delivery program for Masoneilan control valves and Consolidated pressure relief valves for customers across the Middle East and Africa region. The AMC will stock valves, valve modules and spare parts ensuring stronger operational efficiency for customers in the Middle East and Africa region. The operations of Measurement & Control will also be based in the new facility, which will serve customers across the region from Dubai.

GE Oil & Gas has a strong industry footprint across the Middle East region, and partners with leading oil and gas companies, petrochemical industries and power and water industry stakeholders. The UAE is a key market for GE Oil & Gas, with its turbomachinery technologies being at the core of complex industry-milestone projects. GE’s advanced technologies enable our customers to enhance the efficiency, reliability and productivity of their operations.