Saudi Arabia is a very important country for the natural stone industry worldwide and continues to invest in construction with megaprojects and infrastructure investment on a notable high scale.
SOCIAL INVESTMENTS
Saudi Arabia is the fifth marble importer of the world ( based on their percentage of global import purchases) after China, India , Italy and Taiwan and the fourth in the list of the fastest-growing marble importers from 2010 to 2014.
During the last few years the Saudi Government has made huge social investments, building houses, hospitals, schools, universities, mosques, office buildings, etc. and the massive construction activity as a result has created an enormous demand for natural stone. King Abdullah announced in April,2012 the setting up of 16 universities, with an investment of US 21 $ billion- and each such project means thousands of m2 of stone , the Mecca- Medina superfast train which will have 5 stations. The Medina station will have 94,000 m2 of flooring. The station in Jeddah requires 170,000 m2 of granite flooring of 7 to 12 cm thickness .
There are also signed contracts for building brand new metro systems in various cities of the country , all scheduled to be completed in the next 7 years.
THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),is an Arab state in Western Asia (the fifth-largest state in Asia ) with a land area of 2,150,000 km2 . The population as estimated in 2014 is 30,770,375. The government invests seriously in public health care, the birth rate is above the world average while the death rate is below the world average . The result of these key indicators is that the population of the country is extremely young . About 65 % are under 30 years old and 40 % younger than 15 years old.
Saudi Arabia is participating in the GCC, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC.
SAUDIA ARABIA’S ECONOMY
Saudi Arabia’s economy is based on oil. Saudi oil reserves are the second largest in the world (approx 18 % of the world reserves), and its gas reserves the sixth largest. Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading oil exporter and second largest producer . The income from the petroleum and gas sectors equates to almost the total of the government revenues ( 92.5% of Saudi budget) , 97% of export earnings, and 55% of GDP.
Here must be noted that the workforce is consisted mostly of foreign workers, approx 7,500,000 (official estimate). These foreign professionals play a very important role in the oil and service sectors and are vital for the country’s economy.
According to the World Bank Saudi Arabia has a high-income economy with a high Human Development Index, being in parallel the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies.The Kingdom’s budget for 2016 anticipates $224 billion in expenditure , $137 billion revenue and a $87 billion deficit.
You can find a complete presentation of the Saudi Arabian market at:
Market analysis Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia continues to invest in construction despite falling oil prices with megaprojects and infrastructure investment on an unprecedented scale.
BY: Jumana Abdel-Razzaq , February 28 , 2016
Data received from :
http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top-marble-importers.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Saudi_Arabia
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703476
http://www.britannica.com/place/Saudi-Arabia/Economy
http://www.litosonline.com/en/articles/en/526/saudi-arabia-new-heavyweight-granite-processing-country
Kallirroi Pavlakou
International News and Markets
