RIYADH: The number of factories assessed by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has reached 8,000, with over 300 classified as advanced factories, Ahmed Al-Zawawi, assistant deputy minister for industrial competitiveness and advanced manufacturing, told Al-Eqtisadiah.
He explained that since the announcement of the launch of the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Center, efforts have been underway to accelerate support for factories in their industrial transformation journey.
Al-Zawawi said: “We have managed to evaluate more than 8,000 factories, and the results of these assessments showed that there are over 300 advanced factories. About 1,500 factories have undergone detailed evaluations, and transformation plans have been developed for them to enable their journey toward advanced manufacturing.”
He pointed out that the ministry currently offers a wide range of incentives and enablers to support factories, revealing that these incentives will see significant expansion in the coming years.
The assistant deputy minister said: “Today, we have 180 accredited service providers, 80 of whom were accredited this year alone,” adding, “We aim to reach more than 1,000 service providers by 2030, with the goal of reducing transformation costs for factories and enhancing their global competitiveness.”
He stated that the ministry is working through several specialized programs, including the Basic Digitization Program, which offers support of up to SR2 million ($532,831), in addition to undertakings under the Competitiveness Program umbrella, which provides loans and grants of up to SR40 million through the Industrial Development Fund.
Al-Zawawi affirmed that they aim for these programs to be a real driver for the industrial sector, enabling it to compete globally and enter the era of advanced manufacturing with confidence and capability.
