Assistant deputy minister for industrial competitiveness and advanced manufacturing, Ahmed Al-Zawawi, informed Al-Eqtisadiah that the number of factories evaluated by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has already hit up to 8,000, with more than 300 factories being rated as advanced factories.
He said that ever since the introduction of the establishment of the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Center, efforts were being made to hasten the support of factories in the process of industrial transformation.
Al-Zawawi stated that “We have managed to evaluate more than 8,000 factories, and the results of these assessments showed that there are over 300 advanced factories. About 1,500 factories have undergone detailed evaluations, and transformation plans have been developed for them to enable their journey toward advanced manufacturing.”
He indicated that the ministry is presently providing a vast array of incentives and enablers to assist factories, indicating that the incentives will be greatly increased in the coming years.
Ahmed Al-Zawawi added that “Today, we have 180 accredited service providers, 80 of whom were accredited this year alone,” adding, “We aim to reach more than 1,000 service providers by 2030, with the goal of reducing transformation costs for factories and enhancing their global competitiveness.”
He reported that the ministry is undertaking several specialized programs, such as the Basic Digitization Program that offers up to SR2 million ($532,831) in assistance grants in addition to the activities conducted under the Competitiveness Program umbrella, which offers loans and grants of up to SR40 million via the Industrial Development Fund.
Al-Zawawi stated that they want these programs to become a real driver for the industrial sector so that it can compete globally and enter the sphere of highly developed manufacturing with confidence and capability.
