VISION 2030 LAYS FOUNDATION FOR SAUDI’S FUTURE
A new review launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, highlighted the key achievements of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative.
The five-year review of the ambitious programme, which was launched in 2016, examined the progress made so far and outlook for the future.
The biggest economic and investment milestone over the past five years was more than doubling Public Investment Fund’s asset base to SAR 1.5 trillion in 2020, compared to SAR 570 billion in 2015.
Foreign direct investment inflows into the country rose to SAR 17.63 billion, up by 331% compared to SAR 5.32 billion five years ago, according to the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA).
The kingdom also unveiled a number of projects to boost international investments, jobs and growth, such as the NEOM, Qiddiya and the Red Sea projects.
“The council also discussed the acceleration in the growth of the non-oil GDP ratio to reach 59% in 2020, compared to 55% in 2016,” according to the Vision 2030 website.
Boosting home ownership is another vital Vision 2030 achievement as it gives many Saudis a strong asset base to build on. The percentage of home ownership jumped to 60%, compared to 47% five years ago. In addition, obtaining housing funding is now immediate, compared to 15 years before the launch of Vision 2030
OING DIGITAL
Diversification remains a key goal of Saudi authorities, with non-oil revenues rising to SAR 369 billion in 2020, compared to SAR 166 billion in 2015 – a 222% surge during the period.
This was driven by a number of new economy sectors, such as the digital economy. Saudi Arabia achieved first place globally in 5G Internet speed, covering more than 60% of the country’s major cities and 45% of other cities by deploying more than 12,000 towers that support 5G technology.
“The kingdom also ranked sixth among the G20 states in the Global Cybersecurity Index of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and in the expansion of optical fibre network coverage, as 3.5 million homes in urban areas were covered by optical fibre networks in 2020, after it was only 1.2 million in 2017,” according to the council.
“Furthermore, the kingdom attracted the largest technology investments in the Middle East and North Africa, with deals that exceeded SAR 6 billion in cloud computing sector.”
Another key driver was renewable energy, which has quickly emerged as one of the most promising sectors in the country. Over the past five years, 3,600 megawatts worth of projects have been sanctioned, with the capacity to provide electricity to around 600,000 homes.
Solar and wind projects are already under way, while several clean energy projects to produce hydrogen and ammonia are being planned as the government aims to raise the contribution of alternative sources to the country’s energy mix.
“Renewable energy projects will contribute to diversifying the energy mix used in electricity production, so that electricity production from renewable energy and gas will be 50% each by 2030, and this will result in the displacement of approximately one million oil equivalent barrels of liquid fuel,” according to the council.
THE NEXT PHASE
While the kingdom has gained ground, it still has a long way to go to achieve all the stated goals of Vision 2030.
In order to accelerate their plans, the council’s 2021-2025 agenda aims to maintain the momentum necessary to reach those targets.
“This includes making development updates on the vision realisation programmes to ensure its consistency with the targets, increase the efficiency of spending and respond to economic developments, through three basic areas,” the council noted.
The first area is to restructure some programmes and create new ones to align with the changing scope of the global and domestic economy. In light of the pandemic, the council aims to develop a health sector transformation programme.
A second imperative is to provide more flexibility to the implementation of certain programmes, setting priorities for implementing the initiatives, and changing legislative policies.
The third policy aims to promote national character, nurture leading national companies and create strategic partnerships with key entities.
“The next phase of the kingdom's Vision 2030 is set to be marked by the continued development of promising and new sectors,” according to the council.
Contact SAB
