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Khalil Ibn Salamah, deputy minister of industry and mineral resources for industrial affairs, speaking at the Saudi Industry Forum in Dhahran. X\/@sif_2030<\/p>\n
\n\tRIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched the second phase of its standardized industrial incentives program, aimed at boosting competitiveness and strengthening the Kingdom\u2019s trade balance, a senior official said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSpeaking at the Saudi Industry Forum in Dhahran, Khalil Ibn Salamah, deputy minister of industry and mineral resources for industrial affairs, said the initiative supports the government\u2019s efforts to drive high-value investments in priority sectors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThis comes as Saudi Arabia works to position itself as a regional and global industrial hub. Since its initial launch, the program has drawn more than 1,000 investors. Of the 118 applications received, 12 have reached the final qualification stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tIn his remarks, Ibn Salamah said: \u201cIt gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the second batch of standardized incentives under this transformative program.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHe added: \u201cInvestors will be able to invest and apply for these new standardized incentives at the beginning of August.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khalil Ibn Salamah, deputy minister of industry and mineral resources for industrial affairs, speaking at the Saudi Industry Forum in Dhahran. X\/@sif_2030<\/p>\n
\n\tThe initiative, described as one of the most important in the Kingdom\u2019s industrial history, extends beyond traditional financing to include direct grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThese\u00a0are designed to support factories producing critical goods that are currently imported and not manufactured locally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tEligible investors under the program may receive up to SR50 million, or 35 percent of the total investment value \u2014 whichever is higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe deputy minister emphasized the growing role of the private sector in shaping and implementing the National Industrial Strategy, which aims to expand domestic production and promote economic diversification.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe partnership with the private sector has been a cornerstone in shaping the National Industrial Strategy, and it continues to grow steadily to ensure we meet the goals of our national industrial ambitions. The industrial investor remains an indispensable partner in our development efforts,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSaudi Arabia currently oversees 61 industrial cities across the Kingdom. Of these, 37 are supervised by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, also known as MODON, while 18 are private and integrated industrial cities.<\/p>\n
\n\tAnother four are managed by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and several others fall under the Special Economic Zones Authority, including OXAGON in NEOM.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThese zones span more than 2 trillion sq. meters, with over 500 million sq. meters already developed or under development. Infrastructure investments across these sites have exceeded SR31 billion, with an expected return of eight\u00a0to 12 times for every riyal spent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis program has already had a significant positive impact this year and is expected to continue doing so in the years to come,\u201d Ibn Salamah noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe deputy minister said Saudi Arabia is currently overseeing over 1,900 industrial projects with investments totaling SR380 billion, nearly half of which are based in the Eastern Province.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHe noted that conversion industries are expected to account for between 30 and 40 percent of the National Industrial Strategy\u2019s overall targets, underlining their central role in expanding the Kingdom\u2019s industrial base.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHe further highlighted the role of the \u201cWafrah\u201d program in boosting local consumption of polypropylene, reporting over 40 percent growth and 27 percent utilization of existing capacities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tIbn Salamah stated that they are working with the Ministry of Energy to include 20 new materials in the program by 2025, which will significantly impact downstream industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe National Industrial Strategy is built around four core enablers supported by over 140 initiatives.<\/p>\n
\n\tThese include maximizing the value of natural resources, securing the availability of raw materials, enhancing the Kingdom\u2019s exports, and developing specialized industrial clusters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tIt also seeks to empower small and medium-sized factories by encouraging the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn parallel, the government aims to increase the industrial sector\u2019s contribution to the gros domestic product while reinforcing the resilience and efficiency of local supply chains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tChemicals sector drives growth\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tDuring a panel discussion, Fahad Al-Jubairy, assistant deputy minister for sectoral strategies and regulation at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, said the chemicals sector represents one of the most vital components of the national economy and is expected to account for more than half of the total economic impact projected by the National Industrial Strategy by 2035.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe chemicals sector is a vital and strategic component of the national economy. It is one of the twelve key sectors targeted by the National Industrial Strategy \u2014 and indeed, it is considered the most critical due to its projected economic impact,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to Al-Jubairy, Saudi Arabia aims to multiply the output of specialty and downstream chemicals by four to five times, while boosting the production of basic and intermediate chemicals by over 12 million tons annually over the next decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHe also emphasized that the chemicals sector is foundational to the development of other industries such as automotive, aviation, construction, and advanced materials \u2014 all of which stand to benefit from the availability of locally produced value-added chemical products.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe growth of the chemicals sector will position the Kingdom where it truly belongs among the world\u2019s leading economies \u2014 particularly within the G20 \u2014 by reinforcing its global leadership across various products and industries, especially petrochemicals,\u201d Al-Jubairy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHe further noted that the sector\u2019s growth will contribute significantly to job creation, increase industrial competitiveness, and open new investment opportunities for entrepreneurs, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tNew industrial projects\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThe forum featured several key announcements aimed at accelerating industrial growth and localization.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tTwo industrial complexes were inaugurated in the Eastern Province. The first, in Dammam Third Industrial City, will enhance service availability and integration with neighboring industrial zones and export outlets. The second, in Jubail Second Industrial City, targets high-value investments in the chemicals sector and strengthens links with upstream and intermediate feedstock sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBoth fall under the Specialized Industrial Complexes Initiative, which supports economic diversification, local content, and job creation by attracting advanced manufacturing investments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tA strategic partnership was also announced to establish Saudi Arabia\u2019s first tinplate manufacturing plant, in collaboration between the National Industrial Co. and China\u2019s Shanghai Donghexin Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAdditionally, MODON signed major industrial agreements, including a SR40 million contract with Abdullah Al-Shuwayer Sons Heavy Metal Industries, a SR35 million lease with Al-Sharq Polystyrene Factory, and a SR20 billion investment deal with Al Marje Al Hayawi Co. Ltd.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched the second phase of its standardized industrial incentives program, aimed at boosting competitiveness…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[51,1700,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-209524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/guiblkgweaapwaj.jpeg\")
The forum featured several key announcements aimed at accelerating industrial growth and localization.\u00a0X\/@sif_2030<\/p>\n