The year Kingdom took a giant leap

Saudi Arabia achieved rapid progress in educational, health and industrial sectors in 2012 under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman, recording a GDP growth rate of 6.8 percent.
According to the Central Department of Statistics and information, GDP is estimated to reach SR 2.72 trillion ($ 727.3 billion) in current prices in 2012, reflecting a growth of 8.6 percent compared to 2011. The private sector is estimated to grow by 11.5 percent in current prices in 2012.
“In real terms, the GDP for 2012 is estimated to grow by 6.8 percent, with the oil sector growing by 5.5 percent and nonoil sector by 7.2 percent,” the Finance Ministry said in a recent statement. In real terms, the public sector is estimated to grow by 6.2 percent and the private sector by 7.5 percent.
Total revenues are projected to be SR1.23 trillion ($ 330.5 billion) in 2012 and expenditure to be SR 853 ($227.5) billion.
According to Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency's (SAMA) preliminary data, total exports of goods are estimated to be worth SR 1,485 billion ($ 396 billion) in 2012, representing an increase of 9.0 percent over 2011. Nonoil exports are estimated at SR 183 billion ($ 48.8 billion), reflecting an increase of about 4.0 percent and representing 12 percent of total goods exported. The trade balance is estimated to record a surplus of SR 1 trillion ($268 billion) in 2012, an increase of 10 percent compared to 2011.
Bank deposits recorded a growth rate of 9.5 percent during the first ten months of 2012, total bank claims on the public and private sector increased by 11.5 percent and their capital and reserves increased 10.3 percent reaching SR 210 billion ($ 56 billion).
The year witnessed many foreign dignitaries including French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Najib and Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi visiting the Kingdom to expand relations.
According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World report released in October 2011, Saudi Arabia ranked as the 12th most business-friendly country out of 183 economies worldwide and led the Middle East region on the list.
Prince Naif, a great Arab leader and a pillar of security of the Kingdom, passed away during the year. Prince Salman was appointed crown prince and minister of defense following Prince Naif’s death.
Prince Naif, who was interior minister in charge of internal security forces since 1975, earned kudos for the successful crackdown on Al-Qaeda’s branch in the country following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
The year witnessed the implementation of a large number of projects in health, education, industry, electricity and water and other vital sectors including expansion of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
During the year, King Abdullah opened a number of new university campus projects and laid the foundation for new campus projects worth SR 81.5 billion. The Cabinet approved the public transport project for Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Dammam.
The Kingdom took a series of steps last year to create more jobs for Saudis in the private sector. The Nitaqat system, introduced by the Labor Ministry, was instrumental in employing about 300,000 Saudis in less than a year.
King Abdullah laid the foundation for the largest expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and instructed officials to complete the work in less than two years. The project will increase the mosque’s capacity to more than two million worshippers.
The mosque building will sprawl over an area of 614,800 square meters or 1,060 X 580 meters while the combined space of the mosque and plazas will be 1,020,500 square meters or 1,300 X 785 meters. When completed, the mosque will have two major minarets in addition to smaller minarets at four sides.
As part of the government’s efforts to strengthen the industrial sector, King Abdullah doubled the capital of the Industrial Development Fund from SR 20 billion to SR 40 billion. The king also announced the government’s plan to establish a big mining city in the Northern Border Province.
The Waad Mining City will receive SR 26 billion in preliminary investments including the setting up of a SR 21 billion phosphate company. The government will spend SR 4.5 billion on building the infrastructure of the city covering an area of 440 sq. km, northeast of Turaif.
Saudi Arabia competed with other countries in providing humanitarian assistance to other countries and people facing natural and man-made calamities. It carried out a major telethon and relief campaign to support Syrian refugees. The year also witnessed four million Muslim faithful from around the world performing Haj without any major incidents.