JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia announced plans to set up its first industrial city dedicated to female entrepreneurs. The Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) said it has started planning the development of the industrial city in Hofuf City, located near Al-Ahsa Airport. In a statement Monday, it said that Prince Mansour Bin Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, had approved the plan. Modon seeks to allocate land for industrial development for the growth of all sites allocated for the establishment of industrial cities and constituted for investors in collaboration with a number of government agencies and the private sector. The Authority's acting director general, Saleh Al-Rasheed, added that it was currently working to establish a second female industrial city elsewhere in the Kingdom. In this context, Modon explained that Saudi women have the ability to access in the midst of many areas of industrial action, especially after the development of industrial cities for women workers, indicating that women can demonstrate their efficiency in many light and clean industrial sectors those suit their interests and industrial trends. The industrial cities now comprise industrial factories owned by women and other factories with some production lines set aside for women. Modon has launched the Industrial Innovation Award and is still receiving ideas from the participants to win prizes worth SR1 million through the website www.modon.gov.sa. The award targets everyone, especially young men and women workers, with belief of the importance of the role played by women in the business sector and their ability to manage, either industrial or other sectors. – SG
