Saudi Arabia outlined plans for $51 billion of investments by local companies including Saudi Aramco and mining giant Maaden under a government incentive program as it seeks to accelerate a plan to diversify its economy away from oil.
Speaking on the occasion, Amin Al-Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, said, “The Shareek program accelerates the projects of Saudi Aramco and the private sector and enhances their profitability.”
Among the first batch of projects receiving support under the Shareek program is Aramco’s Amiral Petrochemical Complex in Jubail, an $11 billion joint venture with TotalEnergies SE, and Maaden’s plan to boost phosphate production by 50 per cent to make it the third-largest fertilizer producer by 2029.
The $51 billion amount is expected to be spent by the companies by 2030 to achieve over $124 billion in GDP growth by 2040 and create over 64,000 local jobs.
The Crown Prince launched the Shareek program on March 30, 2021, to support large companies in helping the Kingdom’s economy achieve a target GDP growth by 2030.
