Industry and Mineral Resources

Saudi Arabia witnessed a dynamic development process in the industrial and mining sector over the past decades, driven by government empowerment. The development of the industrial sector began with the discovery of oil, which became a mainstay in expanding the industrial system in the kingdom. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has all the capabilities that enable it to reach a competitive and sustainable industrial economy, starting with its prominent geographical location, rich natural resources, in addition to the establishment of leading national industrial companies.

Industrial Sector

Saudi Arabia is proceeding at a continuous and escalating pace towards achieving more goals and ambitions in the industrial sector, such as expansion in industries related to oil and gas, and the development of promising and competitive industries (military industries, automobile industry, pharmaceutical, and food industry), thus building a prosperous future. One of the most important goals of the National Industry Development Program is the transformation of the Kingdom into a leading industrial country and a global platform for logistics services.

The Vision

Saudi Arabia outlined its industrial vision and declared numerous aims, the most important of which is to achieve 84% growth in non-oil industries and 55% interest in local content in manufacturing, in addition to offering 230,000 job opportunities.

Industrial Fund

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources worked to establish the Industrial Fund to contribute to the formation of industrial sectors, the development of competitive institutions, and the support of strategic initiatives in order to improve industrial investment opportunities and develop the local industry.

The Industrial Fund works effectively to provide financial and advisory support, as well as innovative solutions, for the growth and development of local industry, to achieve several strategic goals, beginning with promoting non-oil exports and achieving integration between the industrial sector and other sectors. This is in addition to increasing Saudi competencies' participation in the industry, achieving optimal exploitation of local raw materials, attracting foreign investments, and transferring and localizing technology.

National Center for Industrial Development

To develop industrial clusters and lead development operations in five different sectors characterized by rapid growth and aimed at exporting abroad, namely: the automotive sector, minerals, and mining operations, water desalination and energy spare parts, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries, and biotechnology, the ministry established the  to become The first reference and thought leader for the industrial sector that supports sustainable development and economic and technical leadership in the Saudi Arabia, as the center aims to employ its technical expertise, enable sustainable national industrial development, and promote industrial investment, through business development, setting priorities, recommending effective policies, while supporting and coordinating industrial initiatives In line with other government agencies and partners with the private sector.

Industrial Cities and Integrated Infrastructure

The ministry was keen to establish an integrated program to develop and manage distinguished industrial cities and technical zones in line with national priorities and in partnership with the public and private sectors. Therefore, it established the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON).

MODON has been concerned with developing industrial lands and integrated infrastructure since its establishment in 2001; it supervises 36 existing and under-development industrial cities across the kingdom, in addition to supervising private industrial complexes and cities. It has also achieved remarkable achievements in raising the areas of developed industrial lands to more than 200 million square meters so far. In contrast, the existing industrial cities include more than 4 thousand factories between producer, existing, under construction, and establishment, and 6,587 industrial, investment, service, and logistical contracts, in which 517,242 employees work, including 185,840. One thousand Saudi employees and 16,825 thousand Saudi female employees.

Industrial Sector Initiatives

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is working on a number of initiatives to add value, maximize and diversify economic impact, create an appealing investment environment in the industrial and mining sectors, and provide a competent infrastructure that attracts quality investments.

In order to localize promising industries, the country sought to establish an intelligent and advanced environment for collecting, analyzing, and forecasting data on the industrial sector in order to assist decision-makers, investors, and business developers. The establishment of a platform that collects information and industrial and mining business intelligence shall help provide comprehensive statistics, specialized research reports, and dashboards by data scientists and statistical analysts. To read more, click here.

The Ministry also sought to establish a database and platform for analyzing and auditing products linked to each other along the supply chain, as well as harmonizing product coding and specifications, as well as procedures for qualifying suppliers from factories in companies, with the goal of developing local supply chains.
This resulted in a set of outputs that proved their accuracy and efficiency, and quickly began harmonizing specifications and qualification procedures.

Other industrial sector Initiatives:

Mining sector

National Geological Database:

The national geological database (the Saudi Geological Survey) constitutes the cornerstone of the mineral resources and mining information management system in Saudi Arabia's. It evaluates mineral resources of various types and locations, in addition to data on exploration activities, geological prospecting, and drilling data available for various projects in the country. The National Geological Database aims to:

  • Unifying data and information on mineral and mining resources in Saudi Arabia.
  • Development and governance of the national geological database infrastructure.
  • Developing the mining sector and contributing to increasing the country's GDP from its outputs.
  • Raising investment expectations and returns in the field of mining in Saudi Arabia through the integration of the national geological database with the relevant authorities in the country.
  • Providing documented and accurate information to government and private agencies through a unified electronic portal that contributes to decision-making.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's initiatives in the mining sector:

The state seeks to form an institutional structure for non-profit organizations in the sector, in addition to empowering and governing these organizations and spreading a culture of volunteering and social responsibility with the aim of developing the non-profit sector, as part of the national transformation programs, in turn, will contribute to the gross domestic product and employment, as the non-profit sector is a complementary and integrated sector with The government and private sectors. Accordingly, the state provides several services that work to achieve this trend. Such as issuing licenses to establish non-profit organizations, following up and supervising the work of those organizations, in addition to providing support and empowerment while creating volunteer opportunities and offering social responsibility initiatives.
With the aim of maximizing and benefiting from the value achieved from the mining sector, the Ministry has established an exploration incubator that works to increase the rates of spending on exploration work, support the Saudi geological database with more accurate information, in addition to increasing the number of small national companies and improving customer satisfaction. (read more).

Other initiatives that enriched the mining sector:

Government digital transformation

With the rapid development in the world of technology and the trend of governments and institutions towards digitization in all their services, Saudi Arabia was keen to adopt the concept of digital government transformation by replacing traditional operations with digital ones and developing plans and strategies to ensure the achievement of its goals with quality and efficiency. The industrial and mining investor's digital journey to becoming a more accessible and more flexible experience through the Ebtda platform.

Mobile Applications for ndustry, Mineral Resources Sector

To discover the key government applications for the ndustry, Mineral Resources Sector, please click here.

Important links

Relevant Agencies