Overview
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is the institutional engine behind two of Vision 2030’s most strategically important diversification pillars: the development of a competitive manufacturing sector and the exploitation of Saudi Arabia’s vast, largely untapped mineral wealth. Established in its current form in 2019 through the merger of industrial development functions with the newly elevated mining portfolio, MOIM carries a mandate that spans from factory licensing in Riyadh industrial estates to the geological surveys that will determine the future of the Kingdom’s resource economy.
Under Minister Bandar Alkhorayef’s leadership, the ministry has pursued an ambitious dual agenda. On the industrial side, MOIM is working to increase manufacturing’s contribution to GDP through the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme (NIDLP), the expansion of industrial infrastructure through MODON, and the attraction of foreign manufacturing investment. On the mining side, the ministry is overseeing what it describes as the unlocking of a $1.3 trillion mineral endowment through regulatory modernisation, geological survey expansion, and strategic partnerships with global mining companies.
The convergence of industrial and mining mandates within a single ministry reflects the Saudi leadership’s understanding that these sectors are deeply interconnected. Mining produces the raw materials that feed industrial processes, while industrial capacity creates the downstream demand and value-addition that transforms mineral extraction into sustainable economic activity.
Industrial Development Strategy
Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector has historically been dominated by petrochemicals, an outgrowth of the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon endowment. SABIC, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, built a world-class petrochemical industry that remains the backbone of non-oil manufacturing. However, Vision 2030 demands a broader industrial base that extends beyond petrochemicals into advanced manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, defence, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and building materials.
The National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme
The NIDLP, one of Vision 2030’s thirteen execution programmes, provides the strategic framework for industrial and logistics sector development. MOIM serves as the primary executing ministry for the industrial components of the programme, which targets increased industrial output, higher manufacturing exports, greater industrial employment, and the localisation of supply chains that currently depend on imports.
Key NIDLP objectives include increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP, raising the Kingdom’s manufacturing complexity index, and building export capabilities in non-petrochemical industrial products. The programme recognises that industrial competitiveness requires not just factory capacity but also logistics infrastructure, workforce skills, regulatory efficiency, and access to competitive energy and feedstock.
MODON and Industrial Cities
The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) operates 36 industrial cities across the Kingdom, providing the physical infrastructure, utilities, and regulatory environment within which manufacturing investment occurs. MODON’s industrial cities offer developed land, shared utilities, logistics connectivity, and streamlined regulatory interfaces that reduce the cost and complexity of establishing manufacturing operations.
MODON has been expanding its footprint and upgrading its offerings to attract higher-value manufacturing activities. The development of specialised zones for specific industries, including automotive components, food processing, and pharmaceuticals, reflects a move from general-purpose industrial estates toward cluster-based development that generates agglomeration benefits.
The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, which manages two of the Kingdom’s most significant industrial complexes, operates alongside MODON as a complementary industrial infrastructure provider. Jubail, the world’s largest industrial complex, hosts the majority of the Kingdom’s petrochemical production, while Yanbu serves as a major refining and petrochemical centre on the Red Sea coast.
Mining Sector Transformation
The mining portfolio represents perhaps the most significant untapped opportunity in the Saudi resource economy. The Arabian Shield, the geological formation underlying the Kingdom’s western and central regions, contains deposits of gold, copper, zinc, phosphate, bauxite, rare earth elements, and other minerals that have been only partially explored and developed.
Mineral Wealth Assessment
The Ministry’s estimate of $1.3 trillion in mineral wealth is based on geological surveys that have covered only a fraction of the prospective terrain. Ongoing survey programmes, supported by advanced geological mapping technologies including satellite imagery, airborne geophysical surveys, and machine learning-enhanced analysis, are expected to identify additional deposits and upgrade resource estimates.
The scale of the opportunity is illustrated by comparison: Saudi Arabia’s mineral reserves, if fully developed, would position the Kingdom as a significant player in global mining alongside established mining jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada, Chile, and South Africa. However, converting geological potential into operational mines requires sustained investment in exploration, infrastructure, and workforce development.
Mining Investment Law
The enactment of the Mining Investment Law in 2020 represented the most comprehensive reform of Saudi mining regulation in decades. The new law provides a modern regulatory framework that aligns with international mining investment standards, covering exploration licensing, mining lease terms, royalty structures, environmental requirements, and community benefit provisions.
Key features of the law include competitive royalty rates designed to attract international mining investment, streamlined licensing procedures, enhanced security of tenure for exploration and mining rights, and provisions for the development of mining-related infrastructure. The law also established the Saudi Geological Survey as the technical agency responsible for geological data management and survey programmes.
Ma’aden Partnership
Ma’aden, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company, serves as the national mining champion and the primary vehicle for mineral sector development. With PIF as its majority shareholder, Ma’aden operates gold mines, one of the world’s largest integrated phosphate and aluminium complexes, and an expanding portfolio of base metal projects. MOIM’s relationship with Ma’aden is both regulatory and strategic: the ministry sets the policy and regulatory framework within which Ma’aden operates while also working with the company to attract international mining partners and develop new projects.
Industrial Localisation and Import Substitution
MOIM has identified supply chain localisation as a key strategy for building industrial depth. The Kingdom imports a significant share of the manufactured goods it consumes, from building materials and food products to industrial equipment and consumer goods. By localising production of selected categories, Saudi Arabia can reduce import dependency, create manufacturing employment, and develop industrial capabilities that may eventually support export activity.
The ministry’s Made in Saudi programme promotes locally manufactured products and encourages procurement of domestic industrial output. Government procurement policies that favour Saudi manufacturers provide a demand anchor that helps de-risk industrial investment, particularly in sectors where domestic producers must compete against established international suppliers.
Special Economic Zones
MOIM, in coordination with the Ministry of Investment and other authorities, has supported the development of special economic zones (SEZs) that offer enhanced regulatory and fiscal incentives for industrial and logistics investment. These zones provide customs advantages, streamlined regulatory compliance, and purpose-built infrastructure designed to attract specific types of manufacturing and logistics activity.
The SEZs are strategically located to leverage Saudi Arabia’s geographic position between Asia, Europe, and Africa, positioning the Kingdom as a potential manufacturing and logistics hub for companies serving markets across these regions. The success of the SEZ programme will depend on the quality of the incentive packages, the efficiency of the regulatory environment within the zones, and the availability of workforce and logistics connectivity.
Sustainability and Green Industry
MOIM has increasingly incorporated sustainability considerations into its industrial strategy, recognising that global manufacturers face growing pressure from regulators, investors, and consumers to reduce the carbon intensity of their supply chains. Saudi Arabia’s abundant solar resources and its commitment to renewable energy deployment create an opportunity to offer manufacturers access to competitive green energy, positioning the Kingdom as a location for low-carbon manufacturing.
The concept of green hydrogen production at industrial scale, leveraging Saudi Arabia’s solar resources and NEOM’s planned hydrogen facility, could transform the Kingdom’s industrial proposition by offering manufacturers access to green energy feedstock at scale and competitive pricing.
Outlook
MOIM enters the critical latter half of the Vision 2030 period with a mandate that requires parallel execution across two complex sectors. The industrial agenda demands sustained progress on manufacturing investment, workforce development, and regulatory efficiency. The mining agenda requires the conversion of geological potential into operational mines, a process that typically takes years from exploration through permitting, construction, and production.
The ministry’s ability to execute on both fronts simultaneously, while coordinating with Ma’aden on mining strategy, MODON on industrial infrastructure, MISA on investment promotion, and MOHR on workforce development, will determine whether manufacturing and mining fulfil their potential as pillars of a diversified Saudi economy. For international investors and industrial companies, MOIM’s regulatory decisions and infrastructure development priorities represent critical signals about the Kingdom’s commitment to building a competitive industrial and mining environment.