JEDDAH – By 2020, the Saudi industrial sector is expected to grow to 24 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), Abdulla M. Al Zamil, Chief Executive Officer of Zamil Industrial Investment Company said in his keynote speech at the four-day second Middle East Maintenance Conference and Exhibition (MaintCon 2012) in Manama that concluded Wednesday. Al Zamil noted that the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia currently contributes around 13 percent of the GDP, which 65 percent is industrial manufacturing. He discussed the evolving maintenance landscape and the future of maintenance in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in light of the changing landscape of regional industries. He also addressed the challenges in today's maintenance industry. He explored the increased regional investment in downstream industries that was being made in order to push the economic growth of the region and to create jobs for young GCC nationals. Al Zamil also examined issues relating to alternative and renewable energy, including the need to optimize energy generation with alternative energy economic sector development. He moreover discussed the shale gas opportunities and challenges, including the unconventional hydraulic fracturing extraction method and dealing with highly hazardous materials, challenges that allow the opportunity to develop new and different skill sets. — SG
