8 thousand factories in the Kingdom have completed the first phase of the Future Factories Program

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources for Industrial Development in Saudi Arabia, Al-Badr Fouda, revealed that all factories in the Kingdom are participating in the Future Factories program to transform from traditional to modern industry, within the national strategy for industry.

Foda said in an interview with Al-Arabiya today, Wednesday, that more than 8,000 factories have completed the first phase of the program, which is the self-assessment of the factory through 18 elements, and it is scheduled to move to the second phase, which includes detailed evaluation, and after that the journey of transformation to adopt advanced technologies in manufacturing and reduce waste. .

He explained that the “Factories of the Future” initiative was launched in October 2021 and will last for 5 years, through which we aim to change concepts in the industrial sector from relying on intensive low-wage labor to creating quality jobs, relying on automation and production efficiency, and thus the factory becomes more competitive.

He referred to the “Future Factories” program that was adopted as a guide by the Gulf countries, as we work in the Kingdom in cooperation with the Gulf countries to develop the industrial sector by adopting the application of the “Future Factories” program, with the aim of raising the productivity and competitiveness of the national industry globally.

He added that Saudi Arabia has many commodities with which it competes globally, such as the chemical and food industries and building materials, explaining that the modern factories program aims to convert 30% of the factories within 5 years.

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The industrial strategy focuses on 12 sectors, including the aerospace, automotive and renewable energy industries, in addition to chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, mining and military industries.

The national strategy for industry in Saudi Arabia aims to invest in research and development, and adopt a range of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, to achieve global leadership in the manufacture of a range of industrial commodities.

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The Public Investment Fund will play a key role in building an industrial base and possessing qualitative technologies to enter global value chains.

Phased plans for partnership with the private sector will also be developed to attract more than 800 opportunities with an investment size of nearly one trillion riyals by 2035, with the aim of manufacturing targeted industrial commodities groups, taking into account the current capabilities, required technologies and qualifying human capital.