Al-Baha spends $152.5m on 28 environmental and water projects
Updated 19 July 2022
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Al-Baha region has launched 28 environmental and water projects at a cost of more than SR572.7 million ($152.50 million).
Among them are seven projects to build dams and dig wells to secure drinking water, at a total cost of more than SR60 million, the Minister of Environment, Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, said, at an inauguration ceremony.
The National Water Company has also implemented 15 projects to provide water services to beneficiaries in the region, at a cost of SR272 million, in addition to six projects to develop and expand sewage networks, with a value of SR238 million.
These projects aim to meet the increasing demand for drinking water, sewage and other water services, Al-Fadley said.
The Ministry of Environment is also currently working on the implementation of 21 water and sanitation projects, at a cost of more than SR798 million.
There are also 13 projects for afforestation and protection of vegetation cover, and a further 188 projects planned with a value of SR6.6 billion.
Saudi minister at Davos urges collaboration on minerals
The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals
Updated 20 January 2026
Arab News
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.”
Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources
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.”
