Saudi Arabia has announced plans to set up 24 new industrial cities as part of a long-term vision to diversify its industrial base, improve the quality of products, promote investment and strengthen industrial technology, a report said.

The new cities will provide integrated facilities equipped with all public utilities, Saleh Ibn Eid Al-Husseini, deputy minister for industrial affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said after opening the Saudi Print, Pack, Plas and Petrochem 2005 exhibition in Riyadh.
He said the low tariffs at Saudi ports and the simplified procedure for starting industrial and trading operations in the kingdom would eventually boost the local economy. The government has also created a new apex agency called Saudi Industrial Cities and Technology Park to address the issues related to industrial infrastructure and technology, he said. He said the existing 14 industrial estates across the kingdom including the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu had more than 3,700 industrial units. The total investment in these units stood at SR270 billion ($72 billion), he added.