German engineering group Siemens on Sunday said it could not confirm or deny it had sealed a €500 million ($550 million) gas turbine deal with Saudi Arabia after German newspaper Handelsblatt's global edition said the German company had beaten rival GE in securing it. "We have knowledge of the approval of the project through the (Saudi Arabian) Council for Economic and Development Affairs ... and we are in close dialogue with our Saudi partners," said a spokesman for the Munich-based company. "Please understand that at this early stage we cannot comment any further on the matter." Handelsblatt said the kingdom's ambassador to Germany had confirmed to the paper that the project had been approved and that Siemens had secured it. German media earlier this month said the deal was close to being decided. In June, Siemens signed a deal with Saudi Industrial Property Authority for the construction of a manufacturing and service facility in Dammam, as reported by the government website.
