Minister of Commerce and Industry inaugurates new factory expansion projects in Riyadh 2nd. Industrial City

Alrabiah also visited a number of existing factories and training centers and familiarized with the services and facilities that have been completed, in the presence of Acting Director General of Modon Engr. Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Rasheed and a delegation of Modon department heads.

H.E. the Minister inaugurated a new factory for International Refreshment Co. Ltd. (Tropicana), which produces drinks and juices and an area of 50 thousand m². H.E. also inaugurated the expansion projects for a number of existing factories which include: Al-Jeraisy Furniture Industries, producing office furniture, leather and wooden seats located on an area of 45 thousand square meters having a total investments of SR65m; Saudi Ceramic Co., which manufactures ceramic, while the factory's other products are geezers and sanitary ware. It is a joint stock company and the total investments amount to SR375m in the production of wall tiles and flooring and porcelain in various sizes, and is located on an area of 270 thousand square meters; Abdullatif industrial Investment Co., which produces furniture, carpets, rugs, carpet yarn and blankets, located on an area of 84 thousand square meters which is a joint stock company with a capital of SR825m subscription.

At the end of the field trip to Riyadh 2nd. Industrial City, H.E. visited the Higher Institute for Plastic, a training center for Saudis to produce plastics on an area of 60 thousand square meters; Eastern Packaging Factory, which produces plastic products and packaging bags on an area of 32.500 square meters. The total volume of investments in the factories is SR300m with export to 76 countries and an export ratio of 70%.

Dr. Alrabiah added that the Kingdom has always sought to support the industrial sector and to provide incentives for investment in the Saudi industry, noting that the industrial cities in the Kingdom have attracted leading industrial projects in several areas.

Dr. Alrabiah confirmed that there is a significant demand for industrial investment in the Kingdom, and that the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques have given due attention to the industrial sector.

For his part, Engineer Saleh Bin Ibrahim Rashid Acting Director General of "Modon" emphasized that Riyadh 2nd. Industrial City was established in 1976, south of Riyadh (12 kilometers) in order to satisfy the growing demand for industrial lands in Riyadh. The industrial city has been developed in four stages on an area of more than 18 million square meters, noting that the industrial city currently includes international factories, including ABB for electrical industries and automatic control devices; and Henkel Saudi Arabia for Detergents.

Engr. Al-Rasheed invited investors to exploit the facilities and incentives in the promising industrial cities throughout the Kingdom, stressing that these industrially promising cities are still contributing to ending the waiting lists for industrial lands and have provided the attractive infrastructure to businessmen who have contributed with their projects in a balanced development in the promising cities.

He added that these projects will work on the development of industrial projects and will provide support and career opportunities for the residents of the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) was established in 2001. Modon is responsible for the development of integrated service lands, where Modon has established industrial cities in various regions of the Kingdom and currently oversees 29 existing or underdevelopment cities which include: Riyadh (1st, 2nd & 3rd), Jeddah (1st, 2nd & 3rd), Dammam (1st., 2nd & 3rd), Makkah, Qassim 1st. , Al-Ahsa, Al-Madinah, Al-Kharj, Sudair, Ha'il, Tabuk, Ar'ar, Al-Jouf, Assir, Jazan, Najran, Al-Baha, Qassim 2nd, Al-Zulfi, Shaqraa and Hafr Al-Batin. There are cities under planning and designing stages as well, which include Salwa, Dhuba, Al-Baha 2nd, Military industries and Jeddah 4th. It is targeted that during the coming five years, the number of industrial cities shall reach 40 industrial cities with developed industrial lands of not less than 160 million square meters. To apply for land or to identify opportunities in any of industrial, residential, commercial and service sectors, kindly visit Modon website or follow us on Twitter at Modon_Ksa.

It is worth mentioning that the state has provided incentives and facilities to support the industrial sector with the support of the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques which has played its role in the balanced development and has attracted support projects. This is an opportunity for investors to establish projects for logistics support for the industry. Investors can obtain government loans from the Industrial Development Fund and the continuation of the symbolic industrial land lease and reduced fees, and support to investors through the Human Resources Development Fund.

The incentives in the industrial cities are unique, since the investor can rent industrial land for extended periods from (1) Saudi Riyal per square meter per year, and have access to financial facilities and government loans of up to 75% and avail the customs exemption for machinery and equipment and raw materials used in industry. The land is handed over in a short period of time from the date of submitting the application electronically through Modon website.