Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones 'MODON'

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones "MODON" is a government authority responsible for developing industrial lands and integrated infrastructure across various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It oversees private industrial complexes, industrial cities, and technology zones. MODON was established in 2001 by a decision of the Council of Ministers. Its headquarters is located in the capital city of Riyadh.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones "MODON" aims to develop and manage industrial cities and technology zones with advanced specifications in partnership with both the public and private sectors, contributing to the economic development of the Kingdom and creating an attractive investment environment locally and internationally. Additionally, it aims to provide innovative and sustainable business models, high-quality products, and services that add value to its partners, develop human capital, and enhance digital capabilities within the industrial cities sector.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones "MODON" has established specific goal-oriented strategies to maximize the benefits of public-private partnerships. They offer incentives and advantages to their industrial cities, enabling them to attract leading global companies in the industrial sector and significant foreign investments that add value to the Saudi industry. They have progressed in their domestic partnerships and have attracted investments exceeding SAR370 billion by mid-2023. It has also created mechanisms to enhance the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurs, and Saudi women in industrial development alongside large local companies and the private sector and to develop products and services to contribute to the diversification of the national economy depending on the industry, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.

MODON provides its services within three main categories, including investors, contractors, and engineering offices. They allocate lands within sixteen working days, issue operating licenses, and complete construction within six working days. It also allows applications for its products, including leasing lands for industrial, investment, residential, logistical purposes, and ready-built factories. Additionally, it provides services for inquiries, permits, contracts, and qualifications for engineering offices and contractors, along with issuing the necessary documents to complete and approve the work.

MODON has launched a range of digital solutions and platforms as part of its digital transformation program, with notable ones including the Shareek System, Supplier Portal, MODON (GIS), Contractor Qualification, Licensing and Construction Completion, e-Modon Portal, Intellectual Property Consultation Clinics, and Consultant Qualification.

MODON offers a range of products that support the Kingdom's plans for advancing the industrial sector and contribute to diversifying income sources. These include industrial lands, service lands, ready-built factories, small factories, logistic solutions, land and industrial loan packages, factory and industrial loan options, and foundation products. It encompasses obtaining a ready-built factory and financing small industrial projects within industrial cities.

MODON increased the number of female employees in industrial cities to seventeen thousand in 2020, up from 7,860 employees at the end of 2018, representing an increase of nearly 120 percent. This move has made the industrial sector more attractive to women through products, services, and financial solutions that suit their roles in the national economy. MODON launched five industrial oases in Jeddah, Yanbu, al-Jouf, al-Ahsa, and al-Qassim, which include childcare centers, car parking areas, medical and recreational centers, and providing ready-built factories supporting women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprises with areas of 1,500 m and seven hundred m.

MODON has an environmental system called the MEMS (MODON Environmental Management System), which was launched in 2013 in collaboration with the Japanese company Fujitsu and Saudi Envirozone. The system aims to support and enhance environmental services in industrial cities, monitor their environmental performance, and implement the executive regulations of the environmental system, all within the framework of transitioning to eco-friendly green industrial cities.

As part of the afforestation projects, 173,000 desert seedlings were planted, and the number of planted trees increased to 75,630. The green area, including trees, lakes, and fountains, reached approximately 1.8 million m. MODON collaborates with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture to plant one million trees in industrial cities through the reforestation initiative and the development of natural vegetation cover in accordance with environmental protection plans, supporting wildlife and reducing the effects of desertification. MODON has also implemented the Modon Lake Project in the Second Industrial City in Dammam, which is the largest developed industrial lake in the Kingdom. It covers an area of 400,000 m, with 210,000 m of the lake itself representing 52 percent. It includes 760 palm trees, pedestrian paths stretching four km, and a distinctive ten-km walkway. The lake also hosts several projects related to MODON's social responsibility, including the MODON Tech Center Project, which aims to raise awareness among students and their parents about the industry and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

It also hosted the global race “Eastern Toyota International Rally”, organized by the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation in the Eastern Province.

MODON oversees thirty-six existing and under-development industrial cities across various regions of the Kingdom. In addition to this, it also supervises private industrial complexes and technology zones. The developed industrial land areas encompass approximately two hundred million m. The existing industrial cities comprise more than four thousand factories, including established, under-construction, and newly founded ones, along with 7,018 industrial, investment, service, and logistics contracts. These cities employ 571,850 individuals, including 211,130 Saudi male employees and seventeen thousand Saudi female employees as of mid-2023.

MODON has received six certifications from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These certifications cover quality management, customer satisfaction, handling complaints, innovation management, occupational health and safety management, and business continuity management.

The authority has successfully trained over 450 leaders from seventy-six factories on the concepts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in collaboration with global technical partners. Additionally, fifty-eight factories within MODON's industrial cities have undergone an evaluation using the international SIRI index to measure their level of adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution applications.