Dubai – Mubasher: Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC Group) is looking to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia by establishing 45 new service stations in the kingdom over the coming five years.

The move comes along with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs’ plan to construct up to 1,200 petrol stations across the kingdom, according to the UAE state-run firm’s statement.

The new stations will be built on the kingdom’s vast network of highways that inter-connect the 13 provinces and serve as a major logistics and trade land-corridor; connecting Saudi Arabia to the rest of the GCC and the Middle East region.

“With Saudi Arabia’s long-term vision to diversify its economy, boost tourism and infrastructure and enhance business and trade, our plan to expand our retail network by over 220% in the next five years is aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to reduce oil dependency, increase privatisation and implement the Saudi nationalisation scheme,” Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO of ENOC, said.

The group will first build stations in the central region mainly in Riyadh and the Eastern province in the coming two years.

ENOC currently operates around 14 stations across Saudi Arabia.