RIYADH, 23 September — Industry and Electricity Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani yesterday highlighted the remarkable progress achieved by the industrial sector, saying it contributes about 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
In a statement on the occasion of the National Day, the minister commended the government’s generous support to the industry and electricity sectors.
“The industrial sector was instrumental in realizing the objective of meeting domestic requirements for consumer and capital products,” he said.
Yamani said the Kingdom’s industrial exports amounted to SR30.7 billion last year. There are 14 industrial cities in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah, Qasim, Al-Ahsa, Madinah, Asir, Hail, Tabuk, Najran and Jouf. “The total area of these cities has reached 92 million square meters,” the minister said, adding that the government had spent more than SR2 billion to develop them.
There are 3,566 manufacturing industries in the Kingdom, with a total capital investment of SR245 billion.
He noted the development achieved by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. SABIC currently runs 90 industries at 18 industrial centers with a total annual capacity of 38 million tons.
Yamani said the Saudi Electricity Company would allocated part of its profit for promoting scientific research at Saudi universities and institutes on rationalization of power consumption and protection of environment.
He said the Kingdom’s total generating capacity reached 23,730 megawatt last year, serving 3.72 million subscribers. There are 299,821 employees in the electricity sector.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry said the value of Saudi exports reached more than SR291 billion and imports SR 113 billion. “The volume of trade with its commercial partners was SR404 billion in 2000,” it added.
“The Kingdom was the world’s 13th biggest exporter of goods and 25th biggest importer of goods in 2000,” the ministry’s report said.
