19 hours ago
Saudi Arabia targets aircraft manufacturing: official
After its progress in the automotive industry, Saudi Arabia is now moving toward aircraft manufacturing, as part of the integration of various sectors, a senior official has said.
Khalil bin Salmah, Deputy Minister of Industry for Industrial Affairs, said during the Saudi Industry Forum in the eastern port of Dhahran on Monday that the National Industrial Strategy focuses on integration between priority sectors, from petrochemicals to automotive manufacturing, and soon, 'aircraft manufacturing.'
He added, "We have invested 31 billion Saudi riyals ($8.3 billion) in industrial infrastructure, with an expected return on investment of up to 8 times for every riyal."
He confirmed that there are more than 1,900 industrial projects in Saudi Arabia with total investments of SAR380 billion ($101 billion).
Saudi Arabia has launched an industrial city specialising in aircraft maintenance, spanning an area of 1.2 million square metres.
It has also issued several licenses to companies operating in this field for the first time, according to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.
Bin Salmah noted that manufacturing industries aim to achieve 30-40 percent of the targets of the National Industrial Strategy.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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