Twenty-two companies from Northern Ireland, mostly from the construction industry, will arrive in Saudi Arabia today as part of a week long investment drive.

It is the second visit to Saudi Arabia by a Northern Ireland trade delegation in the past six months and the first of three scheduled visits to the kingdom in 2009.

Local firms will again meet with senior procurement executives from Saudi Bin Laden in Jeddah. A meeting has also been lined up with senior executives of the Emaar organisation, which has the contract to build new industrial cities in Saudi.

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Alan Hingston, Invest NI Trade Director, commenting on the mission, said: "Saudi Arabia is an excellent marketplace in which to do business.

"Participating companies will have a golden opportunity to pitch for business from two of the kingdom’s biggest construction companies in a market which is continuing to invest heavily in infrastructure projects.

"As part of our support for the Northern Ireland construction industry, Invest NI has worked tirelessly to line up meetings with many of the most influential procurement people from these important organisations," he added.

Construction, Northern Ireland's biggest industry, is represented by companies offering a range of services including equipment for sandwashing, screening and recycling.

Two companies who specialise in concrete technology - Rapid International, Tandragee, a manufacturer of concrete batching and recycling machinery, and SRS, Ballygawley, a manufacturer of concrete blockmaking equipment - are among those on the visit.

(PR/JM)