Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih announced Saturday the launch of a program to develop the national industry and logistics services through 13 programs to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
He pointed out that the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) will achieve unprecedented growth and integration in the Kingdom's economy in the sectors of manufacturing, mining, energy and logistics.
He made the announcement during a press conference in Riyadh that was attended by Dr. Nabil bin Mohammed Al Amoudi, the Minister of Transport, and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources for Corporate Affairs and Chief Executive Officer of the program Dr. Abid Al Saadoun.
Falih stressed that the basic rule for the success of any industrial and export country is the logistics sector, including roads, railways, ports, airports and free economic zones.
He said that innovation and scientific research will be key elements of the Kingdom's economy and that each sector of the economy will be independent and separate from others.
The minister said that the program of developing the national industry and logistics boasts more than 330 initiatives and will achieve more than a third of the objectives of Vision 2030.
Ready projects will be introduced for negotiations through deals worth more than 70 billion riyals, revealing that the program aspires to attract 1.6 trillion riyals of investments.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, will officially launch the program on Monday.
For his part, al-Amoudi said that the NIDLP is one of the most important programs in the Saudi economy as it touches on all industrial sectors and logistics services.
He also said that the program focuses on the leadership of non-oil exports, making the Kingdom an export and re-export platform.
Amoudi said that there are projects to build infrastructure and other projects for digital transformation, citing the "Fasah" platform, which comes in integration with several bodies, including the General Customs Authority, which facilitated the import and export in the Kingdom.
He also spoke of the "Wasl", "Naql" and "Bayan" platforms, which are part of the Public Transport Authority. They aim at raising the level of land transport in the Kingdom and increase the capacity of the infrastructure to boost efficiency.
Amoudi spoke of some 60 initiatives in the logistics field worth more than 165% or 35 billion riyals. He highlighted the establishment of five new airports and nearly 2,000 kilometers of railways. By 2030, these networks will contribute about 221 billion riyals to the GDP.
