المملكة: “Cities” .. 7 conditions for operating factories … and legalizing dangerous activities and vertical buildings

The Saudi Organization for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, “Cities”, presented the updated version of the Building requirements for industrial cities, through a “reconnaissance” platform, which is the technical and legislative reference that defines the basic rules and standards for the establishment and operation of industrial and service facilities within industrial cities.
This update comes within the efforts aimed at achieving the goals of the national industry strategy, and aligning the urban trends with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, with a focus on sustainability, and creating a comprehensive work environment that takes into account the empowerment of women, and keeps pace with technical and architectural developments.

The scope of application and organizational “cities” powers

The evidence applies to all industrial projects and service facilities supporting within cities and industrial areas, including construction and demolition work, operation, expansion, modifications, and usufructrine. The “Cities” authority exercises the full authority to issue and explain this guide, adopt the amendments to it, and monitor its application from the initial design stage to the completion of construction and operation.
The Saudi construction code and technical specifications issued by the SASO Standards and Metrology Authority are a basic reference for the evidence, with the inclusion of regulations and requirements issued by the Ministry of Health, the Food and Drug Authority, Civil Defense, and the Meteorological Authority.

The most important obligations and controls of evidence

The guide is obligated by the industrial investor with a number of controls, most notably respecting neighborhood rights, coordinating with neighboring projects, providing plans through an advisory office licensed and specialized in factories design, and obtaining the necessary licenses before proceeding to construction.
As for the engineering designer, he must adhere to international standards in architectural, structural and industrial design, while documenting safety details, identifying emergency and paths, and taking into account integration with safety and security systems. Design adjustments are also prohibited without prior approval from the authority.
As for the supervisor of the implementation, his responsibilities are to follow up on the performance of the contractor, and to ensure the implementation of the work in accordance with environmental standards, quality and safety, as well as preparing monthly reports that clarify the progress of the work and adhere to the approved specifications.
With regard to the contractor, it is committed to the accurate implementation of the approved plans, the adherence to the construction code and safety requirements, the full responsibility for the devices and equipment, the maintenance of the safety of neighboring buildings during drilling and demolition, and not using roads or public corridors to store materials.

Steps to obtain a factory construction license

“Cities” explained that the application for a building permit is made through the electronic portal, where the detailed requirements must be found in both Arabic and English, and then review the licensing department of the specialized industrial city to fulfill the requirements.
It is required that the land used to establish the factory must be leased or owned by a contract with the authority or the owner of the private industrial city, and the industrial license must be obtained from the competent authorities such as the Ministry of Commerce or the General Investment Authority.
As for the food, pharmaceutical factories and cosmetics, they must obtain additional approvals from the Food and Drug General Authority to ensure that production matching public health standards.

Industrial activity classifications

The factories, according to their environmental impact, are classified into three levels: limited, medium, and dangerous.
The requirements vary from filling out an initial evaluation form to preparing an integrated environmental impact assessment study, in coordination with the competent authorities such as the Meteorological Authority or approved research centers.
The investor is obligated to disclose the nature of his industrial activity in front of the licensing department in “cities”, and adhere to the environmental rates and standards approved for emissions, waste, water consumption and energy.

Facilities and specialized buildings networks

The guide requires the investor and developed commitment to the standards of establishing and operating service networks such as electricity, water, sanitation, communications, and firefighting systems, while ensuring their integration with the general infrastructure of the industrial city. Future maintenance and expansion must be taken into account, and the materials used are identical to the approved standard specifications.
The guide imposes specific criteria for buildings of buildings, bodies, storage spaces, corridors, and emergency exits, taking into account the type of industrial activity and the operational capacity of the site. The design of the principles of sustainability is also taken into account, the use of local materials whenever possible, and relying on renewable energy.
The guide also includes guiding controls for selected activities, such as laboratories, research centers, pharmaceutical factories, and hazardous material storage facilities, with detailed illustrations within the official version.

Vision factories .. sustainable architectural innovation

One of the most prominent guarantees of evidence is to highlight the model of vertical factories as one of the future architectural and industrial innovations, especially in urban environments with limited spaces.
The vertical factories represent an integrated model that enhances transparency through open designs or glass walls that allow the follow -up of operations from abroad, which enhances confidence between the factory and the stakeholders, and ensures compliance with environmental and moral practices.
The vertical factories are based on the principle of combining the different stages of production within one vertical structure, which facilitates monitoring, improves operational performance, and reduces dependence on external sources. This model also allows the collection of environmental data and performance indicators accurately enhances the factory’s commitment to the international standards of ESG.
The vertical factories also allow allocating different floors for various production processes, which gives flexibility to expand or adapt to market changes, and supports manufacturing on demand to reduce losses and stocks.
The vertical factories model depends on a mixture of advanced technologies and local capabilities, as it merges local materials and Saudi labor, without prejudice to international quality standards. The urban site of these factories contributes to reducing the costs of transportation and delivery and improving the time of response to local markets.

Big cooperation opportunities and low costs

The vertical factories are distinguished by their ability to host common production spaces between more than one industrial side, which opens the way for cooperation and exchanging ideas, and turns the factory into an innovation center.
The sharing of resources and employment reduces operational costs and achieves the economies of size effectively.
Despite its small horizontal area, header factories are environmentally friendly through energy and water efficiency, and waste management, and can also be expanded by adding floors as needed. This model is enhanced by hybrid manufacturing, where 3D printing, robots, and manual assembly can be combined in one environment.