Alrabiah: Eastern Region is the Industrial Capital in the Middle East
H.E. Dr. Tawfig Alrabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Industrial Property Authority - MODON, recently inaugurated a group of factories in Dammam 2nd. Industrial City in the presence of Director General of Saudi Industrial Property Authority and Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in the Eastern Province and a number of officials and businessmen.
H.E. also opened the Administration Building of Dammam 2nd. Industrial City, which houses the administration and Customer Service Center, to provide various services including: Certificate of Origin, Chamber of Commerce, Labor Office branch and the Passports Department branch. Meanwhile, MODON is keen to attract government service agencies to open offices within the limits of the industrial cities to facilitate the procedures and provision of services for industrialists in the Industrial City.
Following the opening of the Administration Building, H.E. the Minister toured the industrial city and saw the development and rehabilitation projects being carried out in the industrial city. H.E. then opened the following factories:
1 - Welson Middle East Pipelines Co. Ltd. It has a capital of SR 67 million and the production capacity of 300,000 tons. The factory area is 148,000 m², while the number of employees is 226 employees and workers, 95% of them are Saudis.
2 - Extension Pipeline Factory. It has a capital of SR 140 million and its production capacity is 50,000 tons. The factory area is 66000 m², while the number of employees is 240 employees and workers, 38% of them are Saudis.
3 - NAPCO Vehicle Packaging Co. Factory. It has a capital of 35 million riyals and its production is 23.000 tons. The factory area is 33000 m², while the number of employees is 224 employees and workers, 23% of them are Saudis.
4 - Industrial Contracts Factory (Inco). It has a capital of SR 32 million and the production capacity is: 4000 unit doors and Frames. 8000 meters tall cabinets and kitchens, wooden. 17000 linear meters wooden doors. The factory area is 39.000 m² , while the number of employees is 97 employees and workers, 21% of them are Saudis.
5 - Future for Ceramics and Porcelain Factory. It has a capital of 500 million riyals and the production capacity is: 9 million m², while the factory area is 277.000 m². The number of employees is 301 employees and workers, 16% of them are Saudis.
6 - Fahd Al-Thunayyan Chemical Products Factory. It has a capital of SR 30 million, while the production capacity is: 36000 tons. The factory area 33.000 m² and the number of employees is 44 employees, 13% of them are Saudis.
H.E. the Minister praised the factories he visited and thanked the officials for their interest in employing citizens and their contribution to the development and support of the national economy in the industrial projects that give primary resources available, added value and diversity of income sources. He urged the factories to attract modern technology and increase the percentage of Saudization.
His Excellency said: The Eastern Region has become the industrial capital in the Middle East. It has the largest industrial gathering as it consists of: Jubail, Ras Al-Khair, Dammam 1st. 2nd. And 3rd., Al-Ahsa and Hafr Al-Baten and soon Salwa. The new industrial city will attract more than 2000 industrial and service projects.
Eng. Saleh Al-Rasheed, the Director General of MODON said, "The magnitude of the great demand for industrial lands in the region is a strong indicator for the future of industrial progress, will make the Kingdom's economy non dependent on oil; and this is what that will achieve the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who announced that the industry is our strategic choice to diversify sources of income."
He added: The second industrial city in Dammam, founded in 1398, on an area of 25.5 million m² now has 340 producing or under construction factories, while the number of employees employed here is 75,000 employees. The industrial city has several development and rehabilitation, roads, sidewalks, lighting, water and wastewater treatment, landscaping and maintenance projects and the construction of a highway link as well as electrical sub-station. The value of these projects amounts to 804 million riyals.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) was established in 2001. MODON is responsible for the development of integrated service lands, where MODON has established industrial cities in various regions of the Kingdom and currently oversees 28 existing or underdevelopment cities which include: Riyadh (1st., 2nd. & 3rd.), Jeddah (1st., 2nd. & 3rd.), Dammam (1st., 2nd. & 3rd.), Makkah, Qassim 1st. , Al-Ahsa, Al-Madinah, Al-Kharj, Sudair, Ha'il, Tabuk, Ar'ar, Al-Jouf, Assir, Jazan, Najran, , Al-Baha, Qassim 2nd.,Taif, Al-Zulfi, Shaqraa, Hafr Al-Batin. There are cities under planning and designing stages as well, which include Salwa, Dhuba, Al-Baha 2nd., Military industries and Jeddah 4th. It is targeted that during the coming five years, the number of industrial cities shall reach 40 industrial cities with developed industrial lands of not less than 160 million square meters.
The existing industrial cities accommodate more than 3 thousand factories with investments exceeding 250 billion riyals and employing more than 300 thousand workers.
MODON is also responsible for creating ideal environment for developing and upgrading technology zones in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where MODON is currently overseeing two technology zones and six private industrial cities.
The industrial cities have many economic advantages and incentives for attracting the industrial, technical, service, residential and commercial projects. The annual rent of the land starts from one riyal per square meter. The cost of electricity, water and fuel is subsidized by the government with a tariff dedicated for industry. The government provides funds and banks offer soft loans to industrial enterprises of up to 75% of the capital with repayment period lasting to 20 years. In addition, there are other facilities to subsidize the exports through provision of exports warranty and customs duty exemption of imports including raw materials and machinery.
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© Press Release 2012
