Saudi Arabia plans SAR11 billion AI-powered camel industry city in Qaryat al-Ulya
Saudi Arabia has announced a smart camel industrial city in Qaryat al-Ulya with investment exceeding SAR11 billion. The 20-million-square-metre project is designed for up to 150,000 camels and will combine processing plants, veterinary care, research and digital livestock management.
A SAR11 billion livestock and processing hub
Saudi Arabia has announced plans for a smart camel industrial city in Qaryat al-Ulya governorate, committing more than SAR11 billion to modernise one of the country’s most culturally important livestock sectors. The development will cover approximately 20 million square metres and have capacity for as many as 150,000 camels, according to Sabq, citing the Saudi newspaper Al Eqtisadiah.
The project is intended to extend well beyond conventional animal husbandry. Its planned activities cover camel milk, meat, leather, hair and feed, as well as pharmaceutical products, vaccines, scientific research and ecotourism. By placing livestock operations, processing facilities and research institutions within one location, the developers aim to build an integrated value chain and create new investment and employment opportunities.
AI tracking and electronic passports
Each camel is expected to be monitored through tracking chips and digital-twin systems that record health and productivity indicators. The technology is intended to reduce waste and improve product quality. Animals will also receive electronic passports documenting ownership, medical history and genetic information, giving farms, veterinarians and processors a shared digital record for each camel.
The city will include a specialist camel hospital, research centres and a genetic bank focused on breed improvement. Planned industrial facilities include plants producing milk, meat, serums and vaccines. An academy dedicated to camel science and a museum are also included, linking the project’s commercial and scientific functions with Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage.
Research ambitions and a second project
Saudi Arabia’s camel research plans also involve the Teryaq platform, which uses artificial intelligence to study the camel genome. Researchers are examining camel-derived nanobodies for potential future medicines and biotechnology applications. The initiative gives the project a research dimension that reaches beyond livestock productivity into pharmaceuticals and life sciences, although the source provided no construction timetable or production targets for the planned factories.
Camel owners and investors are meanwhile waiting for progress on a separate camel industrial city in Al-Aflaj governorate. Announced by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture through its Riyadh regional branch during the previous year, that development is planned on more than 15 million square metres. Its proposed infrastructure includes model enclosures, specialised markets, licensed slaughterhouses, veterinary facilities and plants processing camel meat, milk, leather and hair.
Together, the projects support Saudi Vision 2030 objectives by seeking to turn camel-related activities into a larger commercial and technology-based industry. For producers and processors, their impact will depend on execution: the completion of shared infrastructure, adoption of traceability systems and operation of facilities capable of converting livestock output into standardised food, leather, pharmaceutical and biotechnology products.
