HD Hyundai to Build Ship Engine Factory in Saudi Arabia

Groundbreaking of 'Makin' Engine Plant, a Joint Venture Established with Saudi Aramco and Dusur

At the groundbreaking ceremony of the 'MAKEEN' engine factory held in Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia, Han Young-seok, Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (second from the left), and attendees are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by HD Hyundai

HD Hyundai is breaking ground on a ship engine factory in Saudi Arabia.

HD Hyundai's shipbuilding intermediate holding company, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, announced on the 25th that 'Makin,' an engine joint venture established through joint investment with Saudi Aramco Development Company (SADCO) and Saudi Industrial Investment Corporation Dussur, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the engine factory in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia. 'Makin' means 'power, strength' in Arabic.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Han Young-seok, Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Mohamed Al Shammari, Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain Management at Aramco, and Ahmad Hassan, CEO of Ras Al Khair under Royal Commissioning, among others.

The joint venture engine factory will be established on a 150,000㎡ (approximately 45,000 pyeong) site within the 'King Salman Maritime Industrial Complex' in the Ras Al Khair area near Jubail, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

The King Salman Maritime Industrial Complex also houses the shipyard 'IMI,' being constructed as a joint venture by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, SADCO, and Saudi national shipping company Bahri, which is expected to create synergies.

A bird's-eye view of the 'MAKEEN' engine factory being constructed in Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia, through a joint investment by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Photo by HD Hyundai

Makin plans to start full-scale engine production from the fourth quarter of 2025. The maximum annual production capacity will be 30 large ship engines, 235 medium-sized engines, and 160 ship pumps, and production of dual-fuel engines is also under consideration to meet eco-friendly demand.

Notably, this is the first time that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ independently developed medium-sized engine, the 'HIMSEN' engine, for which it holds the core technology, will be produced overseas. Makin’s first licensing project for the HIMSEN engine is significant as it secures an overseas base in the ship engine market. Currently, the HIMSEN engine is exported to more than 40 countries including Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, holding over 40% of the global market share in the ship medium-sized engine (power generation) sector, ranking first worldwide.

Han Young-seok, Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, stated, “It is highly meaningful that we have entered overseas markets and become a licensor based on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ engine technology,” adding, “We will actively pioneer overseas ship engine markets based on our technological capabilities and production know-how.”

Meanwhile, the IMI shipyard, in which HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering participates as a joint venture partner, is the largest shipyard in the Middle East with a scale of about 5 million ㎥ and is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.