Starting a Gypsum Board Factory in Saudi Arabia

A new gypsum board factory in Saudi Arabia enters an established, exporting industry. Public data list at least eight producers with about 219 million m² a year of capacity, while 2023 imports were only about 10,000 t. The case must therefore rest on location, cost, special boards or exports, supported by secure gypsum, fuel and SASO compliance.

This article is desk research from the public sources listed at the end. Its purpose is to help an investor test the idea before spending money on a feasibility study, and to show what is specific to the Kingdom. For a method that works in any country, read how to read gypsum board market signals.

Gypsum Board Manufacturers in Saudi Arabia: Who Is Already There

The most useful public list is the Global Gypsum Top 50 ranking of June 2023. Its table covers producers ranked 11 to 50, so a producer outside those ranks would not appear.

By our arithmetic, that total works out at about 5.9 m² per person on a 2025 population of 37 million (World Bank). For comparison, US wallboard sales in 2025 were about 7 m² per person (our arithmetic on USGS). Installed capacity is not consumption, but the comparison shows how far the local industry has developed.

The list is also moving, and its figures need checking:

• United Mining Industries has a 30 million m² a year plant in Yanbu, and was reported in July 2025 to be close to starting a further line.
• National Gypsum, a Dammam-founded company listed on the Saudi exchange, took a bank loan in 2025 to expand its wallboard plants, according to Global Gypsum. Its first-half 2025 results cited increased market demand offsetting higher operating costs.
• Argaam reported in 2015 that Mada had two lines of 34 million m² in Yanbu combined, with 30 million m² more planned. The 2023 ranking shows 42 million m². Those numbers do not reconcile, which is a reminder to verify each producer’s actual output before you build it into a model.

Saudi Arabia Exports More Board Than It Imports

Trade data make the position clear. Under HS 6809.11, paper-faced plaster board, the World Bank’s WITS site shows this for 2023:

At a working estimate of 9 kg/m² for 12 mm board (our reference line’s 7.0 kg of stucco per m², set back to gypsum, plus 0.45 kg of paper), imports equal only about 1.1 million m². Exports equal about 11 million m². Even a small 3,000,000 m² line would be nearly three times the size of the entire import flow, so import replacement will not support a new plant here.

Exports are also small compared with listed capacity, which means most Saudi output must find a buyer at home unless plants run well below capacity. As a rough range, if listed capacity ran at 50–75% and net exports were deducted, apparent domestic use would be about 100–155 million m², or roughly 2.7–4.2 m² per person. This is a scenario, not a statistic. Your feasibility study should narrow it through distributor and producer interviews.

What Could Still Justify a New Saudi Plant

Given those numbers, ask which of these applies to your project. If none does, reconsider.

1. Distance. Public reports place several large lines at Yanbu, on the Red Sea. Board is heavy. Map delivered freight from each competitor to your target region, and see whether a location has a real cost advantage.
2. Captive gypsum. You control a tested deposit close to the site, or you already make plaster and want to move downstream.
3. Captive demand. A developer or contractor group can absorb a defined share of output.
4. Product gap. Local distributors confirm they cannot easily buy a specific product, for example moisture-resistant board, Type X or Type F board, or sizes required by certain projects. Check this with interviews, because HS data do not separate board types.
5. Export logic. Jordan, Iraq and Bahrain already receive Saudi board. A new entrant has to win that volume from established exporters, and it should also watch new plants in those markets. See our note on a gypsum board factory in Iraq.

Demand exists to support the plan, but it needs careful use. The homeownership target in Vision 2030 is 70%, up from 63.7% at the end of 2023, and Knight Frank estimated in 2024 that about 115,000 new homes a year would be needed. Those figures describe housing, not board. Convert them only after you know how much board goes into each building type you plan to sell to.

SASO and SABER Requirements for Gypsum Board

There are two layers: the product standard, and the conformity route.

Product standards. The Gulf Standardization Organization lists GSO EN 520:2004+A1:2021, a current-edition Gulf Standard on gypsum plasterboards that follows EN 520. Saudi standards work also draws on ASTM documents: SASO project pages list work based on ASTM C473-19 test methods and ASTM C1766/C1766M-25 for factory-laminated panels. Decide with your target customers which family you will make to. Check the current edition before you fix the laboratory and additive scope.

Technical regulation. SASO’s Technical Regulation for Building Materials, Part 2, covering insulation and cladding materials, lists items including insulating gypsum composite panels (SASO GSO EN 13950), gypsum cornices and suspended-ceiling elements. Its customs list includes heading 6809, articles of plaster. The version we read does not name EN 520, and it points the reader to the current electronic platform. So confirm the exact treatment of your own product and tariff code with SASO or an accepted conformity body, rather than relying on this summary.

SABER. Intertek’s guide describes SABER as SASO’s online platform, in effect since January 2019. Regulated products imported into the Kingdom need a Product Certificate of Conformity, valid for one year, and a Shipment Certificate of Conformity for each consignment.

What this means in practice:

• Local production and imports compete under one rulebook, but the paperwork differs. An importer works through SABER for each shipment. A local producer should ask SASO how the regulation and the Saudi Quality Mark apply to its plant.
• Equipment is a separate question. Ask your customs broker and certification body what applies to the production line itself. Import clearance, duties, taxes and local registration are the buyer’s responsibility.
• Quality system. Part 2 refers to a production-control-based certification model for certain products. Plan for an in-plant laboratory from the start.

Gypsum Supply and Quarry Licensing

Raw material looks secure in tonnage terms. USGS puts Saudi mine production at 3.8 million t in both 2024 and 2025. On our 3,000,000 m² a year reference line, about 25,000 t of pure gypsum a year is well under 1% of that.

Access is the real question:

• Licensing. Saudi Arabia’s Daleel investor guide describes a building-materials quarry license taken within a mining complex, with a foreign investment license from the Ministry of Investment as an earlier step for foreign investors. The page does not mention gypsum specifically, so confirm the license class with the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.
• New deposits. Global Gypsum reported in 2022 that the ministry had accepted eight companies to bid for a gypsum exploration license at the Al-Qasab wells site in Al Madinah province. That shows gypsum areas do come up, and that interest in them is real.
• Buying rather than mining. Test whether existing quarry operators will sell to a new downstream competitor, and on what contract length.
• FGD gypsum. Do not assume it. Elsewhere FGD gypsum comes mostly from coal-fired plants, while Saudi generation is reported as about 62% gas and 38% oil (EIA figures cited by Kpler, 2025). We did not find public evidence of a wallboard-grade FGD supply in the Kingdom. If anyone offers you by-product gypsum, test it against wallboard-grade expectations; see natural vs synthetic gypsum.

Before the calciner is fixed, test a representative sample from the actual deposit. Clay, limestone and anhydrite content change the preparation section and the stucco yield.

Fuel Pricing and 60 Hz Power in Saudi Arabia

The calciner and dryer run on heat, and Saudi fuel prices are not the fixed background they once were. Our 3,000,000 m² a year reference line uses 1.5–2.0 million m³ of natural gas a year (about 0.5–0.7 m³/m²), so build the fuel question into the site decision.

• Gas prices. Aramco raised gas feedstock and fuel prices from January 2025. MEES reported that listed companies noted undisclosed increases in natural gas prices, so do not take a tariff from an old study. Get the current figure and the allocation terms directly.
• Diesel. Where there is no gas connection, diesel is the obvious alternative, and it has moved quickly. AGBI reports SAR 0.63 a liter in 2022 and SAR 1.79 from January 2026, reviewed at the start of each year.
• A local warning. National Gypsum expected its cost of sales to rise 11% after the January 2024 fuel price increase, according to Global Gypsum. Run your own model on rising fuel prices, not on today’s tariff.
• Sites. The site choice largely decides the fuel. Ask whether the industrial city has a gas network with spare capacity for your dryer’s peak demand, not only whether gas exists nearby. An underfed dryer slows the whole line. See how the multi-deck dryer works.

60 Hz changes the electrical scope

Saudi Arabia runs on 230 V at 60 Hz. China, where many lines are built, runs on 50 Hz. This small detail is often found too late.

A motor, fan or pump built for 50 Hz runs about 20% faster on 60 Hz unless the design allows for it. Mills, dryer fans, calciner blowers and conveyors are all affected, as well as control system supplies. State 60 Hz in the first requirement brief, and ask each supplier to confirm it in writing section by section. Our reference line has 600–800 kW installed and uses 1.4–1.8 million kWh a year; confirm the available capacity and connection voltage with the utility for your specific site.

A Go or No-Go Sequence

Work through these in order, because each one can stop the project cheaply:

1. Name the reason for the plant from the list above. Write it in one sentence.
2. Map every competitor with verified capacity and actual output, and calculate delivered freight to your target customers.
3. Interview ten distributors and contractors about what they buy, from whom and what is hard to get.
4. Secure gypsum: sample test, license class, contract or concession.
5. Obtain a written gas offer for the site, with allocation, tariff terms and fallback fuel.
6. Confirm product compliance with SASO or a conformity body, including the standard and the tariff code.
7. Set the size and board mix, then request quotations on one common requirement brief. A bankable business plan comes after these answers, not before.

FAQ

How many gypsum board factories are there in Saudi Arabia?

The June 2023 Global Gypsum ranking lists eight producers with head offices in the Kingdom, operating ten plants and about 219 million m² a year of capacity. It covers producers ranked 11 to 50, so others may exist, and lines have been added since. Check with each company and with the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources before relying on these figures.

Is there a market for a new gypsum board plant in Saudi Arabia?

Possibly, but not as import replacement. Imports were only about 10,000 t in 2023, while exports reached about 100,000 t. A new plant needs a specific reason: a location advantage against existing plants, captive gypsum, captive demand, a confirmed product gap, or a realistic export plan. Without at least one of these, it enters a competitive market with no edge.

Which standard applies to gypsum board in Saudi Arabia?

GSO EN 520:2004+A1:2021 is the Gulf Standard for gypsum plasterboards, and SASO has also worked with ASTM-based documents for gypsum panel products. SASO’s Building Materials regulation sets the conformity route for listed products. Confirm the applicable standard and procedure for your exact product with SASO or an accepted conformity body, and check the current edition.

Does a production line need changes for Saudi Arabia?

The main one is electrical. Saudi Arabia uses 60 Hz, so motors, fans, pumps and drives must be specified for it, and each supplier should confirm this in writing. Burners and hot-gas systems must match the fuel available at your site. The board formulation and laboratory also depend on the standard you will sell to.

Can a factory use FGD gypsum in Saudi Arabia?

Plan on natural gypsum unless you have a tested, contracted alternative. FGD gypsum normally comes from coal-fired power plants, and Saudi generation is reported as gas and oil. We found no public evidence of a wallboard-grade supply. Any by-product gypsum offered should be tested for purity, chloride and moisture before you size the preparation section around it.

Planning a Gypsum Board Line for Saudi Arabia?

If your project passes those tests, the gypsum board production line page shows the sections, consumption and building requirements of our reference design. YuxingCorp is a Singapore company that compares lines from vetted manufacturers in China; we are not the manufacturer. The gypsum board plant setup guide gives the planning sequence.

Sources

• Global Gypsum, “Global Gypsum Top 50” (June 2023): https://www.globalgypsum.com/magazine/articles/807-global-gypsum-top-50
• Global Gypsum, Saudi Arabia news: https://www.globalgypsum.com/news/itemlist/tag/Saudi%20Arabia
• Global Gypsum, United Mining Industries to commission new line (July 2025): https://globalgypsum.com/news/2415-united-mining-industries-to-commission-new-gypsum-wallboard-line-in-saudi-arabia
• Global Gypsum, United Mining Industries news, including the Al-Qasab license round (October 2022): https://www.globalgypsum.com/news/itemlist/tag/United%20Mining%20Industries
• Global Gypsum, National Gypsum first-half 2025 results (August 2025): https://www.globalgypsum.com/news/item/2291-national-gypsum-company-raises-sales-in-first-half-of-2025
• Argaam, National Gypsum Company profile: https://www.argaam.com/en/tasi/ngc/profile
• Argaam, Mada Gypsum new production line (January 2015): https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/368376
• World Bank WITS, Saudi Arabia HS 680911 imports 2023: https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/SAU/year/2023/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/680911
• World Bank WITS, Saudi Arabia HS 680911 exports 2023: https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/SAU/year/2023/tradeflow/Exports/partner/ALL/product/680911
• World Customs Organization, Harmonized System heading 68.09: https://www.wcotradetools.org/en/harmonized-system/2017/en/136809
• World Bank, Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL), 2025: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/SAU;EGY;USA;WLD/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrnev=1
• US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Gypsum: https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-gypsum.pdf
• Gulf Standardization Organization, GSO EN 520:2004+A1:2021: https://www.gso.org.sa/store/standards/GSO:790021/
• SASO, Technical Regulation for Building Materials, Part 2 (Arabic): https://www.saso.gov.sa/ar/Laws-And-Regulations/Technical_regulations/Documents/building-materials-part2.pdf
• SASO, Standard Test Methods for Physical Testing of Gypsum Panel Products (ASTM C473-19): https://saso.gov.sa/en/Laws-And-Regulations/public_multimedia/Pages/407_1444.aspx
• SASO, Standard Specification for Factory-Laminated Gypsum Panel Products (ASTM C1766/C1766M-25): https://saso.gov.sa/en/Laws-And-Regulations/public_multimedia/Pages/2026-299.aspx
• Intertek, SALEEM and SABER overview: https://www.intertek.com/government/export-import/saudi-saleem-saber
• Daleel (Saudi investor guide), Mining Upstream: Quarries: https://daleel.gov.sa/segment/mining-upstream-quarries/
• Kpler, “When will Saudi Arabia’s utilities ditch oil?” (June 2025, citing US EIA): https://www.kpler.com/blog/when-will
• MEES, Saudi Aramco fuel price changes (January 2025): https://www.mees.com/index.php/2025/1/3/refining-petrochemicals/saudi-aramco-hikes-diesel-prices-by-44/d43ef940-c9d5-11ef-9aa8-df409b93d207
• AGBI, Aramco diesel price (January 2026): https://www.agbi.com/oil-and-gas/2026/01/saudi-companies-face-cost-increase-as-aramco-ups-diesel-price/
• Arab News, Knight Frank on Saudi housing (November 2024): https://www.arabnews.com/business/saudi-arabia-needs-115k-new-homes-a-year-to-meet-2030-homeownership-target-knight-frank-2578989
• WorldStandards, Saudi Arabia voltage and frequency: https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/saudi-arabia/