Logo ofthe Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources
As many as 2,598 factories were under construction in Saudi Arabia by the end of Q4 2024, attracting more than SAR 166 billion in total investments, according to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources’ annual report. 
The factories comprised domestic, foreign, and joint ventures (JVs), with JVs dominating at 91% of total investments, equivalent to roughly SAR 162.3 billion in capital, according to the breakdown provided in the table below:
Under Construction Factories by Investment Type
Investment Type
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
JVs
2352
101451
162257.32
Domestic
226
8493
4029.92
Foreign
20
732
86.75
Total
2598
110676
166373.99
Small-sized factories accounted for nearly 79% of total under-construction factories. They also led in total capital investment, with about SAR 118 billion, as shown in the table below:
Under-Construction Factories by Enterprise Size
Enterprise Size
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
Large
45
25283
14612.40
Medium
456
38453
33937.65
Small
2064
46788
117625.24
Micro
33
152
198.70
Total
2598
110676
166373.99
These factories spread across 23 industrial activities, led by the other manufacturing industries activity with nearly SAR 56.3 billion in capital. The manufacturing of basic metal products followed with more than SAR 30 billion in capital. The table below shows the distribution of under-construction factories by industrial activity:
Under-Construction Factories by Industrial Activity
Activity
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
Other manufacturing industries
325
14593
56326.73
Base metal products
223
12964
30155.77
Motor vehicles, trailers semi-trailers
65
3275
29772.34
Formed metal products, excluding machinery equipment
495
23433
28423.14
Chemicals chemical products
329
14010
14897.75
Other base metal products
384
19329
14187.04
Food products
454
16483
12746.39
Electrical equipment
142
5859
10801.45
Plastic rubber products
338
18498
9718.36
Machinery non-classified equipment
163
7973
7579.63
Beverages
104
6346
5108.45
Other transportation equipment
21
4281
3385.37
Pharmaceuticals products
49
2071
3353.19
Paper products
146
5109
2230.12
Wood cork products
160
5602
2198.41
Furniture
254
9911
1638.29
PCs, electronic optical products
59
2658
1453.12
Coke refined petroleum products
53
4953
1025.14
Textiles
46
2630
708.11
Clothes
65
3079
388.20
Leather products related products
18
598
147.69
Printing reproduction of recorded media
16
381
84.84
Repair installation of machinery and equipment
9
135
55.53
Three provinces accounted for nearly 70% of total investments in under-construction factories across the Kingdom. Makkah led with about SAR 43.5 billion, or more than 26% of the national total.
Eastern Province came in next with roughly SAR 41 billion (over 24%), then Riyadh with around SAR 34 billion (almost 20%). as shown in the following table
Under-Construction Factories by Region
Region
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
Makkah
412
20200
43475.84
Eastern Province
549
26835
40744.81
Riyadh
1167
46610
33971.34
Madinah
128
5338
26549.97
Jazan
35
1326
9718.28
Qassim
109
3028
5906.57
Tabuk
29
968
2327.09
Aseer
71
2667
1605.02
Hail
35
1251
1532.64
Northern Borders
14
419
178.83
Al-Baha
13
595
168.70
Al Jouf
20
734
135.28
Najran
16
525
59.55
Total
2598
110676
166373.99
Logo ofthe Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources
As many as 2,598 factories were under construction in Saudi Arabia by the end of Q4 2024, attracting more than SAR 166 billion in total investments, according to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources’ annual report.
The factories comprised domestic, foreign, and joint ventures (JVs), with JVs dominating at 91% of total investments, equivalent to roughly SAR 162.3 billion in capital, according to the breakdown provided in the table below:
Under Construction Factories by Investment Type
Investment Type
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
JVs
2352
101451
162257.32
Domestic
226
8493
4029.92
Foreign
20
732
86.75
Total
2598
110676
166373.99
Small-sized factories accounted for nearly 79% of total under-construction factories. They also led in total capital investment, with about SAR 118 billion, as shown in the table below:
Under-Construction Factories by Enterprise Size
Enterprise Size
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
Large
45
25283
14612.40
Medium
456
38453
33937.65
Small
2064
46788
117625.24
Micro
33
152
198.70
Total
2598
110676
166373.99
These factories spread across 23 industrial activities, led by the other manufacturing industries activity with nearly SAR 56.3 billion in capital. The manufacturing of basic metal products followed with more than SAR 30 billion in capital. The table below shows the distribution of under-construction factories by industrial activity:
Under-Construction Factories by Industrial Activity
Activity
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
Other manufacturing industries
325
14593
56326.73
Base metal products
223
12964
30155.77
Motor vehicles, trailers semi-trailers
65
3275
29772.34
Formed metal products, excluding machinery equipment
495
23433
28423.14
Chemicals chemical products
329
14010
14897.75
Other base metal products
384
19329
14187.04
Food products
454
16483
12746.39
Electrical equipment
142
5859
10801.45
Plastic rubber products
338
18498
9718.36
Machinery non-classified equipment
163
7973
7579.63
Beverages
104
6346
5108.45
Other transportation equipment
21
4281
3385.37
Pharmaceuticals products
49
2071
3353.19
Paper products
146
5109
2230.12
Wood cork products
160
5602
2198.41
Furniture
254
9911
1638.29
PCs, electronic optical products
59
2658
1453.12
Coke refined petroleum products
53
4953
1025.14
Textiles
46
2630
708.11
Clothes
65
3079
388.20
Leather products related products
18
598
147.69
Printing reproduction of recorded media
16
381
84.84
Repair installation of machinery and equipment
9
135
55.53
Three provinces accounted for nearly 70% of total investments in under-construction factories across the Kingdom. Makkah led with about SAR 43.5 billion, or more than 26% of the national total.
Eastern Province came in next with roughly SAR 41 billion (over 24%), then Riyadh with around SAR 34 billion (almost 20%). as shown in the following table
Under-Construction Factories by Region
Region
No. of Factories
Workforce
Capital
(SAR mln)
Makkah
412
20200
43475.84
Eastern Province
549
26835
40744.81
Riyadh
1167
46610
33971.34
Madinah
128
5338
26549.97
Jazan
35
1326
9718.28
Qassim
109
3028
5906.57
Tabuk
29
968
2327.09
Aseer
71
2667
1605.02
Hail
35
1251
1532.64
Northern Borders
14
419
178.83
Al-Baha
13
595
168.70
Al Jouf
20
734
135.28
Najran
16
525
59.55
Total
2598
110676
166373.99
