RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is preparing 100 plants to become compatible with the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, better known as 4IR, as the Kingdom seeks to modernize its industrial sectors to benefit from the potential opportunities that the 4IR could offer.
Under the National Productivity Program, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, or MODON, will target 20 plants which will form the roadmap for the digital and industrial transformation of the remaining plants, Saudi Press Agency reported, citing MODON’s CEO Khaled Al Salem. The plants will be identified based on their readiness for 4IR, he added.
Advanced technology from 4IR is expected to generate around SR1 trillion for the Saudi economy in new revenue streams, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alsawaha said in July. The Kingdom’s economy will get a boost from robotics, artificial intelligence, and wireless production models as it pushes for smarter cities and infrastructure, he added.
The impact of the 4IR is expected to be massive, with non-oil gross domestic product anticipated to increase by more than 4 percent from 2017 to 2030, Abdullah Alghamdi, the president of Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) said in July.
Saudi Arabia launched a Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in July in Riyadh in partnership with the World Economic Forum.
Al Salem’s comments were made during the inauguration of Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, on Thursday to a number of new projects in the Dammam Second Industrial City.
The new projects include the launch of ready-made industrial factories, infrastructure sites, ports, facilities and logistics services located in the industrial city.
By supporting small to medium sized businesses in industrial areas, these projects are expected to strengthen the role of Saudi women and increase their investments in the sector, Al Salem, said.
Founded in 2001, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, or MODON, has been developing industrial lands with integrated services.
Today, it oversees 36 existing and under development industrial cities in various regions of Saudi Arabia and supervises private industrial complexes and cities.