Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector is visibly accelerating under Vision 2030’s diversification drive. In June 2025 alone, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 83 new industrial licenses (worth over SAR 950 million, USD 253 million). Concurrently, 58 new factories commenced operations with SAR 1.9 billion (USD 507 million) in combined investment.
These projects are forecast to generate roughly 3,200 new jobs across the country, signalling robust growth in non-oil employment. Such figures underscore tangible progress in Saudi Arabia’s bid to build a diversified industrial base beyond oil.
Industrial Expansion Backed By ‘Vision 2030’
Officials note that the surge in new licenses and factories is not a one-off blip but part of a steady trend. The Ministry regularly tracks key metrics to gauge the health of the manufacturing sector. June’s numbers point to sustained momentum. The newly licensed projects span a range of manufacturing sub-sectors, including food processing, rubber and plastics, and non-metallic minerals.
This breadth highlights that diversification isn’t confined to a single industry; Saudi Arabia is cultivating multiple value-added manufacturing industries, reducing reliance on crude oil revenues. For instance, the National Centre for Industrial and Mining Information reported that the Riyadh, Eastern Province, and Makkah regions led in new factory activity, reflecting a nationwide distribution of industrial growth rather than concentration in one area.
Crucially, these developments are anchored in the “Vision 2030” framework. Launched in 2016, Vision 2030 explicitly aims to reduce oil dependence by nurturing a “thriving economy” built on manufacturing, mining, tourism, and other sectors. The uptick in factories and industrial permits is a concrete manifestation of this strategy.
Each license granted and factory opened moves Saudi Arabia closer to a diversified economic model, with a broader revenue base and more opportunities for its workforce. Industrial cities and special economic zones have been expanded to facilitate this growth, offering investors infrastructure and incentives to set up production. As a result, many permits are quickly translating from paper into operational plants—evidence that policy reforms are bearing fruit on the ground.
Colossal Real Estate And Industrial Opportunities
This industrial momentum has a ripple effect, spurring opportunities in manufacturing supply chains as well as in real estate development. With dozens of new plants coming online, demand rises for warehouses, logistics facilities, and worker housing, linking the manufacturing boom to the construction and property sector.
Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” has explicitly prioritised real estate and infrastructure investment to support its economic transformation. By 2024, the Kingdom had funnelled around SAR 4.9 trillion (USD 1.3 trillion) into infrastructure and real estate projects, dramatically expanding residential, commercial, and industrial capacities nationwide. This includes building industrial cities and economic clusters that blend factories with housing and offices.
The result is a virtuous cycle: as manufacturing grows, it fuels property development, and as modern industrial parks and cities rise, they attract more investors and talent. The real estate sector itself has been booming under Vision 2030’s impetus.
In the first half of 2024, Saudi real estate transactions jumped 38% year-on-year to SAR 127.3 billion, reflecting high investor confidence in property. Much of this activity is linked to mega-projects (like NEOM city and King Salman Energy Park) and housing programmes that cater to a young, growing population. Notably, the government’s push to increase homeownership to 70% by 2030 and develop sustainable cities has opened new avenues for private real estate developers.
Furthermore, diversification into industrial real estate is creating niches for development firms. International investors are also partnering on projects like warehouse parks and petrochemical complexes, indicating that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil diversification is attracting global capital into both factories and the real assets around them.
While oil remains important, an increasingly significant portion of GDP and jobs now comes from factories, construction sites, and new business ventures. This industrial momentum bodes well for Saudi Arabia’s goal of a sustainable, diversified economy.
The tangible gains in manufacturing output and property development underscore growing investor confidence that the Kingdom can thrive beyond oil, fulfilling the promise of Vision 2030’s “thriving economy” pillar. Saudi Arabia is not just planning for a post-oil future but is actively building it, one new factory (and one new city) at a time.