COVID-19 outbreak underpins significance of local content industries: Al-Khorayef

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the significance of local content in Saudi Arabia, amid disruption of global supply chains, and the need for local sourcing services as well as factories, Al-Eqtisadiah reported, citing Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef.

The pandemic also helped boosting the industrial development plans in the Kingdom, Al-Khorayef said.

“Dependence on local output is inevitable. The pace of the industrial development plans is accelerating, and requires the coordination of all entities,” he noted.

The ministry is currently studying the possibility of offering incentive packages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them participate in implementing the industrial development plans, the minister indicated.

“Investors normally pump cash into the promising industries, while capitalizing on the stimulus packages offered by the government,” Al-Khorayef said, adding that the ministry is implementing a content localization strategy to boost the local input in most consumer products and increase the contribution of the manufacturing industries to the non-oil gross domestic product (GDP).

“We are mapping out new strategic plans to localize the automotive industry as well as the production of spare parts, while capitalizing on new technologies,” he added.

The ministry is also studying a number of options including the use of petrochemicals in carbon fiber industries. It also made strategic plans to localize

the machinery industries through dependence on local factories while implementing mechanisms to overcome the challenges facing them.

Al-Khorayef expects gold industry in the Kingdom to flourish over the coming years, especially after the ministry allocated 54 mining reserve sites, which will attract local and international companies to invest in the utilization of mineral resources.