JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial and mining sectors surged in 2025, with 23 percent more licenses being issued than in the previous 12 months, according to official figures.
The 1,660 permits signed off by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources were worth more than SR76 billion ($20.52 billion), and are expected to create nearly 35,000 jobs, with the increase pointing to growing investor appetite across the Kingdom.
Factory activity also accelerated in 2025, with 1,201 facilities commencing operations, up 11.7 percent from 2024, generating more than SR31 billion in capital and creating over 45,000 jobs as the Kingdom’s manufacturing base continues to expand.
The developments support Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Strategy, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in October 2022, that aims to drive sector growth and increase the number of factories in the Kingdom to 36,000 by 2035.
“This comes as part of the ministry’s ongoing efforts to achieve the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to maximize the impact of industry and mining in diversifying the national economy,” the ministry’s release added.
