The Saudi Ministry of Industry has announced that 102 new factories were licensed in the Kingdom during March, with investments totalling around SR15.2 billion ($4.05 billion), an increase of 55 percent year-on-year.
Data from a report by the National Center for Industrial Information showed that 39 new factories started production in March, a month-on-month increase of 26 percent.
The new licenses brought the number of factories in the Kingdom, including those under construction, to 9,958 in March 2021. Additionally, the number of Saudi workers and expats in the industrial sector increased by 2,146 and 826, respectively, in March, a total of 2,972 new jobs.
Bandar Al-Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Export Development Authority, also announced this month the launch of the Made in Saudi program. The initiative aims to support national products and services at both the local and global levels.
According to a statement from the Ministry, the program was created due to the “interest and keenness” of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to support national products and enhance their role in the light of their high quality and competitiveness. The program also emphasizes the need to increase awareness of national products.
The program also hopes to provide a “unified identity” for Saudi products and services to promote Saudi products and services locally and internationally,
Among the newly licensed companies is Immensa Technology Labs, a Dubai firm specialising in additive manufacturing – also known as 3D printing. The company announced on Wednesday that it had been approved by the ministry, becoming the first company to obtain a license of its kind.
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