Modon inspects new projects in Shaqraa Industrial City

The project consisting of internal roads (25-40 meters wide) and 8.9 km long for the first phase has 100% been completed.

Following the visit, open meeting with members of the municipal council and a number of businessmen from Shaqraa was held to discuss investment opportunities, industry and ways of development in the industrial city.

Meantime, the promising Shaqraa Industrial City attracted new industrial projects for seven factories. The industrial city is considered the nucleus to attract industrial investments and development in the region, thus achieving MODON strategy for strengthening balanced development in all regions of the Kingdom, because the industrial cities play an important role in the localization of technology, provision of jobs for the residents of the region and attract support projects as well as take advantage of the raw material available in abundance in the region.

The demand for promising cities continues because of the support of the industrial cities "MODON" in providing facilities and incentives, such as industrial land is leased at one Riyal per square meter per year, and extended contracts for a period of 20 years.

MODON seeks to attract all kinds of industries, including food processing, chemical and plastic industries, building materials industry and metallurgical industry. MODON is also seeking to attract investments in the field of logistics.

Appropriate services and raw material for industry is available economically in the region and those raw materials include; livestock, phosphate, natural gas, lime stone, gypsum, and so on.

The MODON promising incentives are attractive to investors, as the local or foreign investor can lease large industrial plots for extended periods at rent starting from (1) Saudi Riyal per square meter per year, and access to financial facilities and government loans of up to 75%, and custom exemption for machinery and equipment, industrial raw materials; in addition to the low cost of energy as the electricity tariff is subsidized by the state.

MODON invites all local and foreign investors from within or outside the Kingdom to initiate their land requests for their industrial or service projects in the promising industrial cities.

It is worth mentioning that the total area of the industrial city in Shaqraa is 10 million square meters. The industrial city is located in the southwest of Shaqraa Governorate on Labkha/Howaita Road.

The importance of the industry in the least developed regions is achieving balanced development and diversification of income sources and promotion of exports, in addition to attracting supporting investment opportunities and adding economic value to primary resources, as well as creating job opportunities for the residents of the area and encouraging reverse migration. The Kingdom is moving towards an unprecedented development by linking different regions to the rail network, which will support the development of the less developed regions.

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,Taif, 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.