JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Commerce has granted six steel export licenses and six cement export licenses so far this year.
In 2020, the ministry issued a total of 21 cement export licenses and 19 steel licenses, and is currently reviewing two other export requests.
The new licenses come as construction activity begins to recover following the postponement of many projects during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
At the same time, the price of steel has surged to SR3,514.73 ($937.26) per ton in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, a 33 percent increase year-on-year and the highest price since 2008, according to the latest data from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Badr Jawhar, chairman of the National Committee for Cement Companies in the Council for Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that since exports were allowed and companies were exempt from export duties, Saudi exports of clinker and cement have increased, as the Saudi product has become a strong competitor in foreign markets.
He said that local companies will continue their export operations abroad, which have increased dramatically during Q1 this year.
According to research by real estate consultant firm JLL, material prices have risen as construction activity has surged in Q1.
“From a supply perspective, the first quarter recorded an increase in construction activity,” the JLL report said.
According to its figures, in the residential sector in Riyadh 7,700 units were handed over in Q1, bringing the total to 1.3 million units in the capital. In Jeddah, around 2,000 units were added, bringing the total to 838,000 units.
According to the report, 36,000 units will be delivered in Riyadh and 12,000 units in Jeddah this year. This year, Riyadh will see the construction of an extra 386,000 square meters of office space, 240 square meters of retail space, and 2,800 new hotel rooms, while Jeddah will gain a total of 43,000 square meters of office space, 200,000 square meters of retail space and 2,700 new hotel rooms.
At the same time, the Kingdom issued 307 new factory licenses in the first three months of the year, according to government estimates. This reflected a total investment of SR17.72 billion ($4.73 billion), an increase of 428.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources website, 240 permits were issued during the same period last year, a 27.92 percent increase year-on-year.
Osama Ghanem Al-Obaidy, an economic adviser and international economic law expert, told Arab News that the initiatives formed part of the government’s bid “to transform Saudi Arabia into a leading industrial power.”
He added: “Development of this sector is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030 to create a competitive economy and sustainable development. Saudi Arabia aims to develop promising industries in food, medicine and medical supplies, as well as military industries, and industries relating to oil, gas, and petrochemicals, mining and chemicals.”
Saudi Arabia issues steel, cement export licenses amid construction surge
https://arab.news/nkwzf
Saudi Arabia issues steel, cement export licenses amid construction surge
- New licenses come as construction activity begins to recover following postponement of projects during pandemic
Saudi minister at Davos urges collaboration on minerals
- The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals
LONDON: Countries need to collaborate on mining and resources to help avoid geopolitical tensions, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
“The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals, the concentration in different areas of the world,” Bandar Alkhorayef told a panel discussion on the geopolitics of materials.
“The rational thing to do is to collaborate, and that’s what we are doing,” he added. “We are creating a platform of collaboration in Saudi Arabia.”
The Kingdom last week hosted the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. Alkhorayef said the platform was launched by the government in 2022 as a contribution to the global community. “It’s very important to have a global movement, and that’s why we launched the Future Minerals Forum,” he said. “It is the most important platform of global mining leaders.”
The Kingdom has made mining one of the key pillars of its economy, rapidly expanding the sector under the Vision 2030 reform program with an eye on diversification. Saudi Arabia has an estimated $2.5 trillion in mineral wealth and the ramping up of extraction comes at a time of intense global competition for resources to drive technological development in areas like AI and renewables.
“We realized that unlocking the value that we have in our natural resources, of the different minerals that we have, will definitely help our economy to grow to diversify,” Alkhorayef said. The Kingdom has worked to reduce the timelines required to set up mines while also protecting local communities, he added. Obtaining mining permits in Saudi Arabia has been reduced to just 30 to 90 days compared to the many years required in other countries, Alkhorayef said.
“We learned very, very early that permitting is a bottleneck in the system,” he added. “We all know, and we have to be very, very frank about this, that mining doesn’t have a good reputation globally.
“We are trying to change this and cutting down the licensing process doesn’t only solve it. You need also to show the communities the impact of the mining on their lives.”
Saudi Arabia’s new mining investment laws have placed great emphasis on the development of society and local communities, along with protecting the environment and incorporating new technologies, Alkhorayef said. “We want to build the future mines; we don’t want to build old mines.”
