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Saudi Arabia intends to step up a drive to attract more capital into its lucrative mining industry to expand its contribution to the gross domestic product to at least $64 billion in 2030, a senior official was quoted on Friday as saying.
The Gulf Kingdom, which has been locked in a drive to diversify its oil-reliant economy, awarded 210 metal industry permits and attracted more than 120 billion Saudi riyals ($32 billion) in domestic and foreign capital into the metals sector in 2022, said Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Saudi Deputy Industry and Mineral Resources Minister.
He told the Saudi Almadina daily that the largest Arab economy awarded 16 new mining contracts in 2022, an increase of nearly 60 percent over the previous year.
“The Kingdom is planning to intensify a drive to attract more investment in the mining sector to boost its contribution to GDP to over $64 billion in 2030,” Al-Mudaifer said.
The Saudi official revealed that a mining investment conference that will be hosted by the Kingdom next week will attract delegates from over 60 countries compared with 38 states in the 2022 conference, adding that the upcoming meeting could witness the awarding of new mining permits to foreign firms.
He noted that nearly 20-30 percent of the mining permits granted in 2022 were grabbed by companies which participated in the previous conference.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
