Middle East Paper Co. announced the approval of the board of directors to start the preparatory procedures for the containerboard paper plant project, with a production capacity of 400,000 tons annually and an expected schedule of 33 months to start production from the date of the start of the project's work. The expected investments will be one and a half billion Saudi riyals, an expected internal rate of return of 15%, and the final budget for the project will be determined after the completion of the feasibility studies.

The current stage will include finalizing feasibility studies, communicating with financial institutions, selecting a technical partner for the project, and obtaining the necessary approvals from the relevant governmental agencies. This comes within the company's strategic plans to continue its leadership at the regional level and invest in the circular economy. This expansion aims to meet the needs of the local and global markets, serve the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and be in correspondence with the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

Project developments and any expected financial impact will be announced in due course.