RIYADH — The estimated value of the government competition which meets with the requirement of local content and localization has amounted to SR300 billion since the start of the legislations till the first half of 2022, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef confirmed. Alkhorayef made these remarks during his speech at the Local Content Forum, at its first edition, where he stated that evolving local content requires an integrated work. The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority cannot develop local content alone, but rather need with the efforts and cooperation of the different government bodies, private sector partners and the society. The total percentage of the local content reached 46% from the total spending of the companies on goods and services for 2022, with a value of SR113 million. Alkhorayef said that this came along with empowering the national factories via the mandatory list of the national products, through which, about 4,000 factories benefitted from it with an impact on the national economy of approximately about SR20 billion. "The adoption of the local content and localization concept came in order to enhance the strength of the internal supply chains in light of the international challenges which include the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical crisis," Alkhorayef noted. Alkhorayef confirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is working on enhancing its strategic partners with the most spending companies in the private sector to contribute its partnerships in the local content. He also added that the ministry targets the society's participation to strengthen the local content concept, as it aims in raising the awareness and clarifying its vital impact on the national economy.
