Saudi Arabia To Convert 4,000 Factories To Use 4IR Technology: Report

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The 4th Industrial Revolution largely involves four specific technologies: high-speed mobile Internet, AI and automation, big data analytics, and cloud technology.

Saudi Arabia plans to create a globally competitive industrial sector by converting 4,000 factories to fourth industrial revolution technology, 4IR.

The sector’s new strategy will increase locally sourced inputs and adopt 4IR technologies; Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef told a conference to launch a military manpower development strategy in Riyadh.

The 4th Industrial Revolution largely involves four specific technologies: high-speed mobile Internet, AI and automation, big data analytics, and cloud technology.

An Industrial Fund will also be established, with a clear program to help investors in the sector to shift toward 4IR technologies with the help of soft loans, Alkhorayef added.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, MODON, is also converting 100 factories to be models that others can emulate.

New technologies are the biggest supporter of transforming the sector into a local workforce, he added, during the launch of the manpower strategy by The General Authority for Military Industries, GAMI.

“The privileges that exist today were present in the past, whether in terms of infrastructure, financing or others, but the difference today is that these privileges have been activated through the enactment of the necessary legislation,” he said.

The Kingdom’s industrial strategy aims to shift from dependency on cheap labourers to a focus on quality jobs.

“Our role is to ensure the existence of job opportunities that match capabilities. And also to work on raising human capabilities to suit future needs,” he said.