Thales SA is one of the major overseas investors to join Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Development and Logistics Program. The memorandum of understanding signed on Monday in the framework is one of preliminary deals worth $62.6 billion agreed on the sidelines of the event organized in Riyadh to present the scheme. The French military contractor intends to enter cooperation including a project for sophisticated armed towers with high capabilities for armored vehicles, the government said.
NIDLP targets $450 billion from the kingdom and abroad through 2030 together with incentives and public-private endeavors and most of the ambitions were unveiled at the gathering. It is part of the Vision 2030 transformation push spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Today's arrangements include industry, mining, energy and logistic services. One of the announced deals is between Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, and petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) for commodity supply.
Officials promised $10.6 billion support for the automotive industry and $27 billion in spending plans this year and next. Foreign direct investment has fallen in 2017 to $1.4 billion, the lowest in 14 years. NIDLP is preparing contracts for the production of steel and iron, generic medicines, aerospace systems and pharmaceutical devices, together with solar power plants and the exploration of gold and zinc.
