Saudi factories outside industrial areas to be moved

The government has decided to shift all factories, that are located in residential areas, to specialized zones outside city limits, said Saleh Al-Rasheed, director general of Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon). “More than 40 percent of these factories are located outside the industrial cities’ zone and Modon will coordinate with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to address the situation,” he added. Modon worked hard over the past years toward developing and expanding the activities of industrial cities to serve the national economy. In 2004 there were 14 industrial cities. “Today, there are 29 industrial cities across the Kingdom, with an area of 142 million square meters of developed land,” he said. Al-Rasheed said that Modon welcomes the establishment of any plant or factory within the space of its borders. “Cities such as Sadeer, Alkarj, Qassim, Dammam, Hafer Albaten and Jeddah welcome new establishments,” he said. More industrial cities will be built in Arar, Tabouk, Hail, Jazan, Asir and Najran. Source: ArabNews