KSA releases 2017 budget

King Salman bin Abdulaziz of KSA has issued a royal decree outlining the country's 2017 budget. The budget is estimated to reach SAR890 billion, an 8% increase from 2016, and is projected to reflect a record 33% decrease in the kingdom's national deficit.

"Our economy is firm and it has sufficient strength to cope with the current economic and financial challenges," said King Salman. "We have sought through this budget and its programmes to improve the efficiency of capital and operational expenditures in the state, strengthen the situation of public finances, enhance their sustainability, give priority to developmental and service projects and programs that serve citizens directly, contribute to activating the role of the private sector and increase its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP)."

Revenue is projected to reach SAR692 billion in 2017, a 31% increase from initial projections. Oil revenues are expected to increase by 46% and non-oil revenues are estimated to grow by 6.5%. The budget deficit is expected to reach SAR198 billion in 2017, reflecting 7.7% of the GDP. Combined, these efforts will move the kingdom closer to its Vision 2030 goal of balancing the budget by 2020.

2017 budget expenditures include a fous on:

• Education: SAR200 billion, covering public education, higher education and training.
• Military: SAR191 billion, to support and expand KSA's military capabilities.
• Economic resources and general programmes: SAR155 billion, including the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the completion of the first ring road around the expansion of the Grand Mosque.
• Health and social development: SAR120 billion, to enable the construction and subsequent equipping of healthcare centres. Thirty-eight new hospitals are already in the process of being built.
• Security and regional administration: SAR97 billion. The establishment of naval bases for border control will be among the new projects under this budget.
• Municipality services: SAR55 billion. 
• Infrastructure and transport: SAR52 billion, towards the building roads, ports, railway, airports, postal services and developing industrial cities.  
• National Transformation Plan (NTP): SAR42 billion. 
• Public administration: SAR27 billion, including 46 new initiatives. The funding is intended to help implement the NTP 2020 initiatives related to the Ministries of Justice, Hajj and Umrah as well as Civil Service, and aims to enhance the performance of these ministries by increase efficiency of existing resources and maximising quality output.

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Read the 2017 Budget (PDF)