KUWAIT, Oct 23 (KUNA) -- Saudi Arabia is witnessing an economic, industrial and development renaissance of wide prospects boosting the Kingdom's ambition to realize more progress and better living conditions.
The Kingdom has realized great achievements at the economic level thanks to the integration between the public and the private sector that bore fruits and enhanced the production capacity in almost all sectors.
According to the country's 8th development plan (2005-2009), private investments are expected to rise from 110.3 billion Saudi Rial (SR) in 2004 to SR 181.2 billion by the end of the plan. (One USD is equivalent to SR 3.73).
By the same token, the private sector is expected to contribute up to 74.3 percent to the Kingdom's total investments and 20.2 percent of its GDP during the five-year plan.
The Saudi average GDP per capita has hit about SR 43,300 in 2004.
The country's strategy for developing the non-oil production sectors aims at achieving an average annual growth of seven percent over the coming two decades so that their contribution in the GDP would rise from 24.9 percent in 2004 to 27.4 percent in 2024.
The five-year term plan also seeks an increase in the real GDP from SR 714.9 billion in 2004 to about SR 895.2 billion in 2009, that is realizing an annual growth rate of 4.6 percent.
The plan includes setting up several vital projects as well as conducting the replacement and maintenance for the existent ones.
State investments are due to rise by 3.2 percent annually over the five years, which will raise official investments from SR 21.1 billion in 2004 to about SR 24.8 billion in 2009.
Official investments are estimated to reach 10.2 percent of the total investments in the Kingdom in 2009.
Priorities of the 8th development plan are topped with improving the standard of living and providing job opportunities for the Saudi people and enhancing the quality and the quantity of the education, health, training, social services as well as encouraging innovation and creativity initiatives.
Other aims include coping with the world's breath-taking economic development, varying the economic base, boosting the competitiveness and the capacity of the national production and paying more attention to the promising sectors such as the processing industries and mining.
The plan encourages the private sector's contribution in economic and social development through carrying on with developing the investment systems, rules and procedures besides speeding up the implementation of privatization and upgrading the performance of financial services.
Developing the IT sector and supporting scientific research are also top priorities in the plan that also seeks fostering Saudi women's capabilities and participation in the development and economic activities.
At the world level, the Saudi development plan expects the Kingdom to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) "as soon as possible" in addition to activating cooperation with the other world's economic blocs.
By Hanan Al-Qaysi
