RIYADH: Local content in government procurement surpassed 51 percent in 2025, Saudi Arabia’s Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Alkhorayef said on Monday.
The data was provided at the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority’s fourth Local Content Award ceremony in Riyadh.
The event highlighted efforts to boost domestic content, a key pillar of Vision 2030 aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s industries and reducing reliance on imports.
During his keynote speech, Alkhorayef said local content in government procurement had risen from 28 percent in 2018 to more than 51 percent by the end of 2025.
He said the increase reflected a shift in government and private sector procurement toward local spending. Saudi Arabia aims to increase the share to 70 percent by 2030 under its transformation vision.
Alkhorayef also said the authority has continued to apply policies and tools to support local content.
He said 80 agreements have been signed under the industry-localization and knowledge-transfer approach since its implementation in 2021, with investments exceeding SR18 billion ($4.8 billion) by the end of 2025.
The event also recognized 27 winners across the public, private, nonprofit and individual sectors at the awards ceremony.
Participation in the awards also grew, with the number of applications rising by more than 131 percent compared to the previous edition.
The event featured 22 awards and five certificates, with two new tracks introduced under the nonprofit category, recognizing its role in economic and social development and advancing local content.
In the government entities category, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority ranked first in the high-spending track, followed by the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services, while the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development placed third.
Speaking to Arab News, Humoud Al-Harbi, spokesperson at the ZATCA, said the organization has implemented initiatives to strengthen local content through procurement and internal processes.
“We are working on several projects aimed at developing local content, implementing local content mechanisms, and also improving the quality of practices associated with local content,” he said.
Al-Harbi said the efforts have supported job creation and boosted the use of local suppliers.
In the path for Excellence in Local Content for Medium- and Low-Spending Entities, the Roads General Authority ranked first, followed by the Ministry of Energy, with the Saudi Ports Authority placed third.
Arif Al-Ruhaimi, executive general director of risk management and business continuity at the Saudi Ports Authority, said the entity launched 19 initiatives, including 11 focused on local content.
He added that these initiatives “touched on all aspects of local content in all its components, whether in the localization of services, localization of industrial components, or localization of human resources.
“They also focused heavily on supply chains or value chains, because as you know, ports play a very central role and are a key link in these chains.”
“Therefore, their contribution and strengthening within local content will certainly contribute significantly to enhancing supply chains and their sustainability.”
Al-Ruhaimi said the authority aims to raise the share of local content in its procurement to 75 percent by 2030, up from around 50 percent currently, while supporting the private sector to reach 65 percent.
These local content initiatives are also expected to create around 4,000 jobs by 2030, he added.
In the state-owned companies’ category, STC Group secured the top award for local content preference, followed by Matarat Holding, while National Water Co. ranked third.
In the private sector, International Maritime Industries was among the winners in the large enterprise category, while Intra Defense Technologies was recognized among Small and Medium Enterprises in the manufacturing and mining sector.
In the nonprofit sector, the Nusuk for Hajj and Umrah Foundation was among the entities recognized for advancing local content.
Individuals were also recognized for raising awareness of local content’s national economic impact, with Hattan Tashkandi taking first place, followed by Yara Al-Shehri and Yousef Al-Mazyad.
