Promoting Manufacturing, Mining Industry to Storm the World 10-largest Economies’ Club

At the outset, it is noteworthy that, during the previous four decades, the Kingdom have achieved great growth rates, as well as an overall development, in the industrial and mineral resources’ sectors.

Given that these two significantly important sectors role in realizing the economic diversification, creating huge investment and job opportunities, and mainly contributing to the GDP (gross domestic product), we can say, that so far, they have managed to achieve a promising future and sustainable economic growth, for the Kingdom.

All in all, that was in support of the Kingdom’s ultimate ambition, to become a main partner-cum-member of the 10-largest economies’ club, world over, based on the Vision 2030 outlook.

In the manufacturing sector, the industrial strategy in the Kingdom is based on three main pillars, the first of which is building national capabilities, in order to make the Kingdom able to benefit from the domestic demand, and subsequently, to build national capabilities and lead with imports’ substitution, through bolstering local manufacturing.

The second is to deepen the utilization of the Kingdom’s natural resources and potentials, whether in the energy, oil and gas, or mining sector, focusing in the future of the value-added products, that would create great opportunities, to pump huge investments into the local economy.

The third is the Kingdom’s future aspiration to achieve an advanced and sustainable position, in terms of enhancing the competitiveness of the local industries’ final outputs, globally.

Realizing these three pillars, depends, by and large, on focusing on local content as well as the 4th Industrial Revolution, as supportive or back up enabler.

For the Kingdom to adopt as well as to adapt to the 4th Industrial Revolution, in the field of manufacturing and the mining sector, there are several stages lying ahead, too.

The starting point is emanating from changing the business models, in place and in play, among industries, to much more advanced models based on technical solutions, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and the Internet of Things. That is as well as the presence of financing programs, that would motivate industrial investors to acquire the drive and interest to lead the change’s shift.

Presence of investment is among utmost important priorities to realize the targets of the existing industries, towards adoption-cum-adapting to the 4th Industrial Revolution, starting with project design and financing, up to various stages of production, as well as converting about 4,000 factories from complete dependence on expatriate workers, to become fully digitally-administered automation, within 5-year, to come.

Oxagon Industrial City, in NEOM, is a real Role Model, par excellence, of Kingdom’s leadership, in adopting industrial technologies and the 4th Industrial Revolution, as it is a gateway linking global trade together, an automated port and an integrated supply chain hub, with the technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and completely environment friendly clean energy.

Oxagon City is also a thriving ecosystem to stimulate advanced manufacturing industries, and a supportive city for research, development, and innovation in the industrial field.

The “Made in Saudi Arabia” program, or Saudi Made, in short, was also launched to support the national product and enhance its role, through high quality and great competitive edge, at the regional as well as the global levels.

There are also great efforts exerted, in the fields of military industries and the indigenization of medicine and other relating industries.

Many important and basic entities that form an integrated system and, directly, contribute to building infrastructure, in the industrial sector, including the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for Finance, the Industrial Development Center, and the Saudi Export Development Authority.

The Saudi Export-Import Bank, the General Authority for Foreign Trade, as well as the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, all have major roles to play, in creating an integrated investment environment that, works to enhance the existence of a sustainable market for the Kingdom and a clear demand to take advantage of the government’s tremendous purchasing power, in line with the needs of the local market, export needs and international agreements.

As for the national strategy, in the mining sector, it is a promising strategy as well, as it includes environmental commitment, governance, social responsibility aspects, and commitment to the availability and transparency of geological information and data, all of which are necessary factors for successful investment, in the mining sector.

A platform was also created and launched on the Kingdom’s natural resources, in the mining sector, to raise awareness of the Kingdom’s rich natural mineral resources, and to encourage and attract investors.

In the mining sector as well, the Saudi Geological Survey is an important advisory body, that provides government agencies and those interested with all information related to geology and earth sciences, and the Saudi Mining services company also works to achieve the sector’s goals, in providing an attractive investment environment, by improving the procedures and the legislative framework for issuing mining licenses, developing and implementing modern technical solutions.

Through the work and coordination of these integrated systems, in the industrial and mineral resource sectors, the Kingdom aspire to achieve more distinction, and maintain an attractive and sustainable investment environment, at the local and international levels, to achieve its goal of being among the 10- largest economic-powerhouse countries, in the world, by 2030, in tandem with the Vision 2030.