Special Economic Zones and Industrial Cities in Saudi Arabia
https://doi.org/10.21686/2410-7395-2025-2-137-154
Abstract
Saudi Arabia's policy of creating special economic zones and industrial centers has been studied. It shows both new trends in Riyadh's policy (the creation of specialized economic zones starting in 2023) and the continuing traditional approach for the Kingdom aimed at creating industrial centers with housing and logistics infrastructure. The characteristics of each of the five new special economic zones, including their industry specialization, are given. It was noted that the dynamics of foreign direct investment is lagging behind the planned schedule, and therefore public investment plays an active role. The process of creating special economic zones is considered in the general contest of the Saudi reform program "Vision 2030". It is shown that so called industrial cities played key role in the spatial development and creation of Saudi Arabia's manufacturing landscape from scratch, and they are of greater importance for the Kingdom, than special economic zones. Saudi approach to planning territorial location of industrial cities and their specialization is shown.
About the Authors
E. S. Biryukov S. Biryukov
Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences; National University of Science and Technology MISIS
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Evgeny S. Biryukov - PhD, Senior Research Fellow; Associate Professor
A. A. Kolomeytseva
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Angelina A. Kolomeytseva - PhD, Associate Professor, Associate Professor at the Department of International Economic Relations and Foreign Economic Affairs named after N. N. Liventsev
References
1. Arabskiy Vostok: prostranstvo vozmozhnostey i tupiki periferiynosti [The Arab East: Space for Opportunities and Dead Ends of the Peripherality], kollektivnaya monografiya, edited by A. O. Filonik. Moscow, Institut Vostokovedeniya RAN, 2023. (In Russ.).
2. Biryukov E. S. Politika Egipta po sozdaniyu zon svobodnoy torgovli i perspektivy sozdaniya zon svobodnoy torgovli mezhdu Rossiey i Egiptom [Egypt Policy on SEZ Creation and Perspectives of Russian-Egyptian SEZ]. Mezhdunarodnaya torgovlya i torgovaya politika [International Trade and Trade Policy], 2016, No. 1 (5), pp. 55–64. (In Russ.).
3. Biryukov E. S. Rol i mesto gosudarstvennykh kompaniy v ekonomike monarkhiy Araviyskogo poluostrova [The Role and Place of State-Owned Enterprises in the Economy of the Monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula]. Problemy ekonomiki i upravleniya neftegazovym kompleksom [Problems of Economics and Management of the Oil and Gas Complex], 2016, No. 1, pp. 34–41. (In Russ.).
4. Biryukov E. S. Rol finansov stran – chlenov SSAGPZ v mirovoy ekonomike [The Role of Finance of the GCC Member States in the GlobalEconomy]. Vestnik universiteta [Bulletin of the University], 2013, No 2, pp. 189– 195. (In Russ.).
5. Biryukov E. S. O korrektirovke sotsialno-ekonomicheskoy modeli Saudovskoy Aravii [On the Correction of Socio-ekonomic Model of Saudi Arabia]. Mezhdunarodnaya torgovlya i torgovaya politika [International Trade and Trade Policy], 2024, Vol. 10, No. 4 (40), pp. 147–158. (In Russ.).
6. Biryukov E. S., Biryukova O. V. Osobye ekonomicheskie zony stran SSAGPZ [Special Economic Zones of the GCC Countries]. Aziya i Afrika segodnya [Asia and Africa Today], 2016, No. 11 (712), pp. 28–33. (In Russ.).
7. Biryukov E. S., Biryukova O. V. Osobye ekonomicheskie zony stran SSAGPZ [Special Economic Zones of the GCC Countries]. Aziya i Afrika segodnya [Asia and Africa Today], 2017, No. 1 (714), pp. 41–46. (In Russ.).
8. Vasilev A. M. Istoriya Saudovskoy Aravii (1745–1973 gg.). [The History of Saudi Arabia (1745–1973)]. Moscow, Nauka, 1982. (In Russ.).
9. Gukasyan G. L. Strategii ekonomicheskogo razvitiya stran Soveta sotrudnichestva arabskikh gosudarstv Persidskogo zaliva [Strategies of Economic Development of the Gulf Cooperation Council]. Vostochnaya analitika. [Oriental Analytics], 2017, Issue 4, pp. 25–30. (In Russ.).
10. Gukasyan G. L. Ekonomicheskaya transformatsiya v stranakh Soveta sotrudnichestva arabskikh gosudarstv Persidskogo zaliva: problemy i perspektivy [Economic Transformation in the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Problems and Prospects]. Kazan, Izd-vo Kazanskogo universiteta, 2017. (In Russ.).
11. Kibrasli F. Svobodnye ekonomicheskie zony na Blizhnem Vostoke i v Sirii [Free Economic Zones in the Middle East and in Syria]. Problemy teorii i praktiki upravleniya [Issues of Theory and Practice of Management], 2021, No. 8, pp. 47–56. (In Russ.).
12. Kolomeytseva A. A. Svobodnye ekonomicheskie zony: fokus na ustoychivoe razvitie [Free Economic Zones: Focus on Sustainable Development]. Mezhdunarodnaya torgovlya i torgovaya politika [International Trade and Trade Policy], 2024, Vol. 10, No. 4 (40), pp. 16–39. (In Russ.).
13. Kostyunina G. M. Svobodnye ekonomicheskie zony v mirovoy ekonomike [Free Economic Zones in the World Economy], Moscow, MGIMO-Universitet, 2022. (In Russ.).
14. Lomakin N. N. Svobodnye ekonomicheskie zony v arabskikh stranakh: praktika kvalifitsirovannykh promyshlennykh zon v Egipte i Iordanii [Free Economic Zones in the Arab Countries: Practice of Qualified Industrial Zones in Egypt and Jordan]. Aziya i Afrika segodnya [Asia and Africa Today], 2017, No. 4 (717), pp. 52–57. (In Russ.).
15. Rusakovich V. I. Sovremennye tendentsii sotsialno-ekonomicheskogo razvitiya SSAGPZ: statisticheskiy analiz [Modern Tendencies of Socio-Economic Development of the GCC: Statistical Analysis]. Mezhdunarodnaya torgovlya itorgovaya politika [International Trade and Trade Policy], 2024, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 60–73. (In Russ.).
16. Rusakovich V. I. Svobodnye ekonomicheskie zony stran SSAGPZ kak instrument innovatsionnogo razvitiya [Free Economic Zones of the GCC States as a Tool of Innovative Development]. Innovatsii: perspektivy, problemy, dostizheniya, materialy III Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii. [Innovations: Perspectives, Problems, Achievements. Materials of the 3rd International Scientific-Practical Conference]. Moscow, Rossiyskiy ekonomicheskiy universitet imeni G. V. Plekhanova, 2015, pp. 95–99. (In Russ.).
17. Fedorchenko A. V. Rossiya – Saudovskaya Araviya: sostoyanie i perspektivy sotrudnichestva [Russia – Saudi Arabia: Current State and Perspectives of Development]. Mezhdunarodnaya torgovlya i torgovaya politika. [International Trade and Trade Policy], 2024, Vol. 8, No. 4 (32), pp. 23–34. (In Russ.).
18. Filonik A. O., Vavilov A. I. Saudovskaya Araviya: poiski vnutrenney garmonii. [Saudi Arabia: the Search for Inner Harmony]. Moscow, Asti-Izdat, 2004. (In Russ.).
19. Shkvarya L. V. Inostranniy kapital v stranakh Persidskogo zaliva [Foreign Capital in the GCC States]. Aziya i Afrika segodnya [Asia and Africa Today], 2011, No. 2, pp. 39–46.
20. Shkvarya L. V. Sotsialno-ekonomicheskoe razvitie Korolevstva Saudovskaya Araviya i ego pozitsii v regionalnoy ekonomike i torgovle [Social-Economic Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its Positions in the Regional Economy and Trade]. Aziya i Afrika [Asia and Africa Today], 2022, No. 6 (20), pp. 38–50. (In Russ.).
21. Shkvarya L. V. SVOT-analiz SEZ v stranakh Persidskogo Zaliva i opyt dlya Rossii [SWOT-Analysis of SEZ in the GCC States and Experience for Russia]. Geopolitika i ekogeodinamika regionov [Geopolitics and Ecodynamics of the Regions], 2018, Vol. 4 (14), Issue 3, pp. 26–38. (In Russ.).
22. Shkvarya L. V. Strany Persidskogo zaliva: sovremennye tendentsii ekonomicheskogo razvitiya. [Persian Gulf Countries: Modern Trends in Economic Development]. Yalta, 2021. (In Russ.).
23. Yakovlev A. I. Voskhozhdenie Saudovskoy Aravii. Korolevstvo Saudovskaya Araviya v mirovoy i regionalnoy politike v ХХ veke [The Ascent of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in World and Regional Politics in the Twentieth Century]. Moscow, Instmitut Vostokovedeniya RAN, 2024. (In Russ.).
24. Borna R. The Oil King`s Legacy: The Rise of Saudi Arabia’s Financial Empire. Independently Published, 2025.
25. House K. The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia. New York, Harper, 2025.
26. Special Economic Zones. The World Bank. Washington, 2008. Available at: https://www.wbginvestmentclimate.org/uploads/SEZs%20-%20Performance,%20Lessons%20Learned%20and%20Implications%20for%20Zone%20Development.pdf (accassed: 10.02.2025).
27. Trade Union Manual on Export Processing Zones. Geneva, International Labour Organization, 2014.
28. Ulrichsen K. Gulf Goes Global: the Evolving Role of Gulf Countries in the Middle East and North Africa and Beyond. FRIDE, 2013, No. 121, pp. 7–28.
29. World Investment Report 2019: Special Economic Zones. Geneva, UNCTAD, 2019.
30.
Review
For citations:
Biryukov E.S., Kolomeytseva A.A. Special Economic Zones and Industrial Cities in Saudi Arabia. International Trade and Trade Policy. 2025;11(2):137-154. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21686/2410-7395-2025-2-137-154
Views:
132
Email this article 
