RIYADH: Saudi Arabia launched on Wednesday the largest factory for solar panels production in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in Tabuk Industrial City, with SR700 million ($186.6 million) worth of investments, SPA reported.

The factory is located on a total area of more than 27,000 square meters, with an estimated production capacity of 1.2 gigawatts.

The new Tabuk facility uses automated machines for its production, and employs the latest international technologies in the field.

It is strategically located near the Kingdom’s giga projects in NEOM and the Red Sea, and the region also has plenty of qualified locals to work in the various jobs needed by the facility, deputy minister of industry and mineral resources Osama Al-Zamil said.