- Foreword
An introduction to the Industrial Clusters program from president, Azzam Shalabi.
ObjectivesSpecific goals of the Industrial Clusters program.
OrganisationHow the program and individual clusters are structured.
ExpertiseSpecific areas of expertise and key people within the program.
PartnersOrganisations that work closely with and support Industrial Clusters.
- Strategic advantages
More about the many advantages KSA offers industrial investors.
InfrastructureAn overview of KSA’s modern and expanding industrial and business infrastructure.
Human capitalEducation, training and demographics of KSA’s world-class labour pool.
Investment incentives and supportA guide to the incentives and support available to industrial investors.
- Labour regulations
More about working practices and regulations in Saudi Arabia.
Trade agreementsSaudi Arabia is an active member in many trade organisations worldwide.
TaxationLearn about Saudi Arabia's highly favourable taxation and duty levies.
Setting up a businessHow Industrial Clusters can advise on establishing a business in KSA.
SAGIAThe Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority can facilitate investment and support.
- Minerals and Metal Processing cluster
The opportunities for metals and minerals industries and downstream applications.
Automotive clusterWhy KSA is well-placed to meet growing demand for vehicles and vehicle components.
Plastics and Packaging clusterHow plastics conversion builds upon the success of KSA’s petrochemicals industry.
Home Appliances clusterKSA’s resources can meet soaring demand for home appliances in the Middle East.
Solar Energy clusterMore about the potential for creating the components for and generating solar energy.
Other industriesBeyond the Industrial Clusters, KSA has a raft of long-established and successful industries.
Industrial Clusters program supportMore about the support Industrial Clusters can offer to industrial investors.
Industry development
Since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) first polymer processing plant opened in 1956, plastics production has expanded greatly in terms of volume, range and product sophistication.
Over these years Saudi Arabia has also attracted considerable foreign investment in its petrochemical and plastics and packaging sectors. In 2010, for example, US-based Greif formed a joint venture with KSA's National Scientific Company to produce flexible plastic containers in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabian plastics production comprises mainly polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS). KSA also produces polycarbonates, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).
Relatively recent additions include styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyamides and polyoxymethylene (POM).
Among newly introduced and planned products are epoxy, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), polycaprolactam, polycarbonates, polyurethanes and polyether polyols.
With its vast petrochemicals industry, Saudi Arabia is a major
producer of: the feedstocks used for plastics production, the basic
chemicals required to make plastics (mainly ethylene, propylene,
butadiene, benzene, methanol and xylene), and next-stage
intermediaries (such as vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, acrylic
acid, propylene oxide and styrene).
Major raw materials suppliers to KSA's plastics and packaging
sector include Petro Rabigh, Tasnee, Sipchem and SABIC, the Saudi
Basic Industries Corporation. SABIC is the world's fourth-largest
petrochemical company, largest producer of ethylene glycol and
methanol, third-largest producer of polyethylene and fourth-largest
producer of polypropylene and polyolefin.
The Industrial Clusters program (IC) is in charge of developing KSA's Plastics and Packaging cluster. The program has six plastics conversion anchor projects:
- Personal care products (for example tubes, bottles, containers and caps, and later pumps and sprays)
- Pharmaceutical packaging products (eg bottles and blister packs, and later inhalers and syringes)
- Caps and closures (standard shapes and later complex shapes such as tamper-proof and sports-bottle tops)
- Bi-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film (eg transparent and metallised bags for food)
- Barrier films (eg bags and pouches, and later chemicals packaging, medical and pharmaceutical packaging)
- General-purpose film (eg blown and cast film for food packaging)
The Industrial Clusters program's main aims are to:
- Fill gaps in KSA's petrochemical and plastics supply chains
- Enhance links between the petrochemical and plastics sectors
- Develop links between KSA's plastics cluster and its automotive, solar energy and home appliances clusters
- Expand the number of plastics users, particularly consumer packaged goods (CPG)(fast-moving consumer goods) companies
- Attract global plastics, packaging and CPG players
- Encourage CPG packaging companies to become more export oriented
- Support plastics conversion (moulding, extrusion, lamination and forming) projects
- Encourage more companies to adopt licensed processes and technology
- Support higher added-value and high-end production for the automotive, biomedical and packaging sectors
- Develop sector-related products and services such as tools, equipment, training and logistics
Industrial Clusters' targets for 2020 include: making KSA a world top-10 exporter of plastics; and creating and sustaining 17,000 additional plastics and packaging sector jobs.
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