Industrial Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are cities and provinces comprising industrial and technological enterprises in the Kingdom. Their development and management are supervised by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones “MODON". Since its establishment in 2001, "MODON" focused on developing industrial lands and integrated infrastructure. Moreover, the authority supervises thirty-six existing and under-development industrial cities across the Kingdom, in addition to monitoring private industrial cities and complexes.
'MODON' successfully increased the area of developed industrial land to approximately two hundred million m. On the other hand, existing industrial cities include more than four thousand active, under-establishment, and under-construction factories. Moreover, 6,587 industrial, investment, service, and logistics contracts are in force, employing 517,242 people, including 185,840 Saudi male employees and 16,825 Saudi female employees.
MODON's strategy to empower the industry and increase local content relies on developing more services and products, according to a vision that keeps pace with the requirements of partners in the private sector and enhances their participation in diversifying the national economy within Saudi Vision 2030. Furthermore, its initiatives contribute to the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP). In addition, it provides various products, such as industrial lands with developed infrastructure and services, service lands allocated for investment in developing facilities and services, prefabricated factories of various sizes ranging from seven hundred m² to 1,500 m², and logistical solutions distributed in the main provinces of the Kingdom. The authority also launched the 'Land and Industrial Loan' and the 'Factory and Industrial Loan' in cooperation with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, as well as 'OSOS' in cooperation with the Social Development Bank.
'MODON' has created mechanisms to stimulate the participation of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector and entrepreneurs in industrial development, along with major local companies. This serves Saudi Vision 2030 realization in terms of diversifying the national economy, based on industry.
Emergence of industrial cities in the Kingdom
The establishment of industrial cities in the Kingdom dates back to the 1970s. In 1973, "MODON" marked its first milestone by inaugurating three industrial cities in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, totaling an area of fourteen million m. By 1985, the number of industrial cities had increased to nine, then to twelve in 1993, and further expanded to fourteen in 2004. By 2007, the developed land covered an area of 40.5 million m. In 2010, the number of industrial cities reached twenty-one, covering approximately 123 million m of developed areas. This number grew to thirty-two cities in 2013, spanning an area of 163 million m. By 2016, the count reached thirty-five industrial cities, occupying 191 million m. In 2018, MODON launched a strategy aligned with the development of the national industry, aimed at empowering it and meeting its needs. In 2019, it attracted significant investments and saw the initiation of the National Productivity Program. In 2020, MODON further enhanced the digital transformation ecosystem and applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Classification of industrial cities in the Kingdom
Industrial cities in the Kingdom are divided in terms of ownership into government and private cities. They vary between: industrial cities, technological areas, and "oases", which are cities producing light-industry, such as jewelry, accessories, cosmetics, fashion and textile industries, electronics, medical products and tools, etc.
Industrial cities are distributed across all administrative provinces in the Kingdom. Many types of industrial, service, and logistic products have been manufactured there. These cities have high-quality water and electrical resources that serve all the production processes. Industrial cities in the Kingdom are usually linked to railway stations, and their locations are characterized by their proximity to ports and airports.
Industrial oases in the Kingdom
The Kingdom is home to five industrial oases that are distributed across five different cities and governorates: Modon Oasis in al-Ahsa, Modon Oasis in Jeddah, Modon Oasis in Qassim, Modon Oasis in al-Jawf, and Modon Oasis in Yanbu. These oases' added feature consists in their equipment to support the empowerment of Saudi women to enter and invest in the industrial sector. Consequently, the number of Saudi women working in the industrial sector within cities increased to 17,000 by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
The Kingdom includes several technology parks and cities, including "al-Ra'idah Digital City," located in the capital, Riyadh. Established in 2009, its purpose is to support innovation in information and communications technology, as well as research and development fields. Another complex is "Riyadh Techno Valley," established within King Saud University in Riyadh. Drawing from the university's cognitive capabilities, it focuses on technology development and economic improvement. Lastly, the "Wadi Makkah Technological Complex" was established in 2012. Located within Umm al-Qura University in Makkah al-Mukarramah, it works to support and develop technological research.
King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) is one of the newly established industrial cities in the Kingdom. It was launched in 2018 and is supervised by Saudi Aramco. It is located in the Eastern Province near Buqayq Governorate and covers an area of about fifty million m. Its development phases will be fully completed by 2053. Finally, SPARK contributes to the localization of a number of industries and provides job opportunities by strengthening national industries.
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