Development Saudi Arabia to invest $320m rebuilding Yemen By Melissa Hancock June 26, 2023, 1:00 PM Reuters Restoring Shibam in Yemen is part of the Saudi plan Saudi announced SAR1.2bn to help rebuild Yemen Projects include a hospital, power plant, ring road and border crossing Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed relations in March Saudi Arabia will invest SAR1.2 billion ($320 million) to help rebuild war-battered Yemen, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency announced on Sunday. The kingdom has launched a package of 20 development projects in Yemen’s Hadramawt province, which form part of the kingdom’s “continuous economic and development support for the country,” the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, was quoted as saying. New financing urgently needed to aid famine relief in Yemen Iran invites Saudi king to visit Tehran Middle East military spend shoots up after Saudi splurge The Saudi-backed Yemeni government controls most of the south of Yemen, with Hadramawt being the biggest province. Much of northern Yemen remains under Iran-backed Houthi control. The investment will go towards the establishment and equipping of a university hospital and cancer centre at Hadhramout University. This aims to provide advanced healthcare to Yemenis and training for healthcare practitioners, and to support research and development. The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen also launched projects to establish a gas separation and treatment facility, as well as a power plant in the city of Seiyun to increase the power station’s production capacity to 100mw. Other programmes include the first phase of the Mukalla new ring road, the rehabilitation of the Al-Wadiah border crossing and various educational and technical facility projects. Funds will also contribute to the enhancement of water resources in the governorate, the restoration of the city of Shibam, the protection of historical libraries and a project to support food supply chains. Civil war has shattered Yemen’s economy and infrastructure, and brought about a humanitarian crisis, but talks to end it have gathered momentum since Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic ties in March.