Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, laid in the 2n Industrial City here today foundation stones and inaugurated a number of projects amounted to SR 1364 million. Upon arrival at the venue, he was received by Dr. Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry's undersecretaries. The projects included Ceramics Company; Plant of Toner Company, the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa; Middle East Cables Corporation ; United Gulf Plant for Juices; and Training Center of Al-Obaikan Company. A speech ceremony was held on this occasion. Dr. Yamani said in his speech that the industrial sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of economic non-oil sectors amounted to SR 92 billion in 2004, representing 18.05 percent of GDP of these sectors. He noted that the industrial sector contributed to the increase in the growth rate of non-oil exports amounted to nearly SR 57 billion in 2004, adding that the total number of producing plants at the end of the first half of this year stood at 3762 with investments of more than SR 271 billion. The announcement of the Kingdom's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will enhance the Kingdom's position at the world level which will increase its economic gains, the Minister of Commerce and Industry said.
