§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what current proposals have been (i) discussed and (ii) agreed with the Saudi Government offset committee; what are the estimated amounts involved; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIn addition to the venture proposals referred to by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member on 19 June 1989, col56, I am pleased to say that three further venture proposals have subsequently been put to the Saudi Government offset committee for its consideration.
As announced in a news release by my Department today the third proposal involves an imaginative series of potential collaborations from Royal Ordnance plc to develop jointly Saudi Arabia's defence industrial infrastructure. The fourth proposes that the United Kingdom company Technicare International Limited and the Saudi company Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo collaborate on setting up a number of computer training centres in Saudi Arabia and number five is for a joint venture between Fryma Fabrics Limited of the United Kingdom and Nafa Enterprises of Riyadh to establish a manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia to produce polyethylene yarn and tape and also to knit the yarn into agricultural and horticultural netting. All five initial proposals are presently being considered by the Saudi Government offset committee.
All of the proposals will be the subject of further detailed feasibility studies before implementation and it is not yet possible to give an accurate assessment of the investment which will be involved. The present indication is that the total investment in the five project proposals should be in excess of £100 million over a period of 10 years or more.