Saudi Arabia has announced the signing of framework agreements for 12 projects worth a total of SR192.4 billion ($51.3 billion) in investments as part of its Shareek programme at a key ceremony held yesterday (March 1) in the presence of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Large Companies Investment Committee.
Launched in 2021, Shareek is the kingdom’s dedicated programme for large companies, designed to help unlock the full potential of Saudi Arabia’s private sector, and contribute to achieving the national targets defined by Vision 2030.
The Shareek program is helping eligible companies accelerate planned projects and identify new potential partnerships and investment opportunities through government support. To date, 28 companies are enrolled in the Shareek programme.
The first wave of supported projects will have strategic impact on several economic sectors in the kingdom, encompassing investments worth (SR192.4 billion). SR120.23 billion will be spent by large companies by the end of 2030, to achieve more than SR466.83 billion in GDP growth by 2040 and create 64,451 local jobs, reported SPA.
Spekaing at the ceremony, Shareek CEO Abdulaziz Al Arifi said the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, led by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, contributes to making Saudi Arabia a leading destination for investment and growth, with its focus on bolstering partnerships with the private sector as a key catalyst for sustainable economic development.
Furthermore, the Shareek program has become a key choice for large private sector companies, evidenced by the 12 projects enabled by the program across four sectors, he stated.
Al Arifi said these projects supported the growth of eight national companies and contributed to raising their international competitiveness, in addition to generating a strong ripple effect across entire value chains, which resulted in great investment opportunities for a wider segment of the private sector.
The broad economic impact is one of the main criteria considered by Shareek when assessing potential projects, he added.
Aramco will receive support to advance the development of five of the 12 projects. The first is a manufacturing joint venture that aims to make Saudi Arabia entirely self-sufficient the supply of steel plates by 2030, said the SPA report.
The second one is a cloud project which will attract Google Cloud services into the Kingdom and establish Saudi Arabia as a hub for advanced cloud computing technologies.
Also the kingdom will get an engine manufacturing project which will aid in the development of a sustainable maritime sector and unlock greater value from metals and machinery sectors, which are central to diversified industrial development.
The other big project is a casting and forging unit in Ras Al Khair, which will enhance the integration of industrial supply chains in the kingdom, and finally the Amiral Petrochemical Complex project, contributing to the localization of chemicals production, with the aim to strengthen the Kingdom’s global leadership in the petrochemical industry, stated the report.
Also in the energy sector, Acwa Power will receive Shareek support for the construction of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, which is being developed in partnership with NEOM Green Hydrogen Company and Air Products Qudra. The project demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s capabilities as a green energy leader, in support of the Kingdom’s net zero ambitions.
Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) will receive support to accelerate its Phosphate 3 project in Wa’ad Al Shamal, which is set to position the company as the third largest global producer of phosphate fertilizers by 2029 and enhance the Kingdom’s position in the world’s agricultural value chain, aiding global food security, stated Al Arifi.
Within the Kingdom’s petrochemicals sector, the industry leader SABIC has received support for a catalyst project, primed to reduce Saudi Arabia’s import dependency and enhance its position as an exporter by establishing KSA’s first catalyst manufacturing hub, he noted.
Through a joint venture, Shareek will provide support to Advanced Petrochemical Company to produce methionine, which will contribute to enhancing food security in the Kingdom and raising the efficiency of food security, reported SPA.
In the growing telecommunications industry, stc will implement an EMC cable project, strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position as a Mena region digital hub and reliable route for data traffic. Also, Zain Saudi Arabia will be accelerating a data center project, set to help transform the Kingdom into a digital economy by ensuring readiness for future IT advancements, stated Al Arifi.
Saudi logistics giant Bahri will scale up its capacity for ammonia transportation through a project supported by Shareek, set to provide ammonia transport services for the first time in the Kingdom, reducing international vessel dependency and enhancing local content in the logistics sector, he noted.
Al Arifi pointed out that Shareek aims to unlock SR5 trillion in domestic private sector investments by 2030 and contribute to the goals set out in Vision 2030, which target an increase in private sector GDP contribution to 65% and an increase non-oil exports from 16% to 50%.
The program is implemented with the support of several sectorial supervisory committees led by senior government officials. The projects announced at the event represent the first wave of supported projects. Many more are expected to be supported, and these will be announced in due course, he added.