Abdullah Kamel: Number of factories in Saudi Arabia surpasses 15,000

Riyadh — Abdullah Saleh Kamel, head of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, reported that the count of factories in Saudi Arabia has surged from 7,000 to over 15,000 since the commencement of Saudi Vision 2030. In a speech at the opening of the second edition of the Saudi Industry Forum 2026 in Jeddah Superdome on Monday, Kamel noted that this expansion encompasses sectors previously unregulated, such as military industries, with licensed companies in these fields now surpassing 347.

The three-day event, organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, in collaboration with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the rise in both domestic and foreign investments in the sector, with the industry's contribution to GDP now standing at 16 percent. Kamel pointed out that Saudi Arabia has emerged as a leader in various industries, including petrochemicals, machinery and equipment, military industries, food and pharmaceuticals, textiles, and building materials.

He further highlighted that Saudi products are formidable competitors in international markets, attributing this success to the federation's interactions with importers from allied nations, as evidenced by the data on non-oil exports' growth. This leadership, Kamel explained, is a result of the government's support under King Salman, the Kingdom's access to essential resources, and the competitive edge of its industrial system, bolstered by advanced infrastructure and the country's advantageous proximity to global markets.

Kamel stressed the federation's commitment to fostering partnerships with relevant government bodies to achieve the nation's objectives, both domestically and globally, and to help Saudi Arabia become a leading industrial power on the world stage through the private sector's investment, growth, and competitiveness, leveraging artificial intelligence, Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, and other sector-enabling innovations.