RIYADH: The King Salman Energy Park, popularly known as SPARK, has signed a deal with UAE’s SeAH Steel and the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investment Co., to form a joint venture aimed at establishing a stainless seamless pipe factory with an investment of SR1 billion ($270 million). The joint venture, named Gulf Special Steel, is touted to be the first of its kind in the Middle East and North African region. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the second Saudi International Iron and Steel Conference in Riyadh on Monday. “This investment will result in the localization of a strategic industrial segment that supports the energy sector and the transfer of knowledge in the Kingdom,” said SPARK in a Twitter post. These developments are part of the Kingdom’s attempts to diversify its economy, which has been dependent on oil for several decades. This venture is in line with the Saudi government’s National Steel Strategy, which aims to expand Saudi Arabia’s steel production as a part of Vision 2030.