RIYADH: Advanced technology from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is expected to generate around 1 trillion riyals for the Saudi economy in new revenue streams, a senior Saudi official told a conference in Riyadh today.
The Kingdom will enjoy economic boosts from robotics, artificial intelligence, and wireless production models as it pushes for more smarter cities and infrastructure.
In his opening remarks of the Saudi 4IR conference, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alsawaha announced the inauguration of the Saudi 4IR center in collaboration with WEF and said that the center will spur more innovation as Saudi cities must keep pace with technological developments.
He told an audience at the two-day conference, being held at King Abdullah City for Science and Technology, that the Kingdom is building the most technologically advanced infrastructure in the new NEOM giga-project, which will be a global technology center.
The impact of the 4IR is expected to be massive, with non-oil gross domestic product anticipated to increase by more than 4 percent from 2017 to 2030, generating 1 trillion riyals in new revenues, Abdullah Alghamdi, the president of Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) said in his opening remarks.
He added that SDAIA is working on developing customized platforms for each  city to accommodate their specific needs.
The concept of a Fourth Industrial Revolution was first suggested by Klaus Schwab, chairman of the World Economic Forum, and was the theme of the annual WEF meeting at Davos in 2016. WEF opened its first 4IR Center in San Francisco in 2016, and there are now centers in 13 countries, including ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ.
"With this launch you have become part of our growing global network of centers, Schwab said in his remarks to the conference.
¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ has invested heavily in digitizing its cities, with 60 percent of the Kingdom’s urban centers covered by 5G networks, said Haytham Alohali, vice minister of communications and information technology.
The government has developed one of the most advanced E-government systems in the world and has established data and AI to support its digital transformation, minister of industry Bandar Alkhorayaf said, adding that the Kingdom has a strong manufacturing base with over 10,000 factories 40 specialized integrated industrial cities that provide the required infrastructure and services needed for the manufacturing facilities and workforce.
The world's leading petrochemical producer, SABIC, strives to keep pace with technical developments and is focused on digital transformation in artificial intelligence, machines, and robotics, CEO Yousef Albenyan told the conference. It also seeks to provide smart solutions to its customers and enhance the competitive process, he added.
