Saudi Arabia will spend over SR 32 billion ($8.6 billion) on research and development as part of its 20-year National Science and Technology Plan, Arab News reported today.

Saleh Al-Athel, president of the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), told the English daily that the allocation represents 2.5 percent of the Kingdom’s GDP of SR 1.3 trillion ($347 billion), up from 0.25-0.50 percent.

Al-Athel said the government would install in the near future the so-called “technology incubators” at five Saudi universities as part of its program to promote applied research in the Kingdom. Buildings for the project, costing SR15 million each, will be established at King Saud University (Riyadh), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dhahran), King Faisal University (Dammam), King Abdul Aziz University (Jeddah) and King Khaled University (Abha).

Return