RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said it has provided $6 billion for a steel plate complex and an electric car battery plant as part of plans to attract $32 billion in investment in the mining sector. Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al-Khorayef said in a statement that the ministry’s goal is to finance nine projects for minerals and metals. The kingdom seeks to diversify its economy away from oil by pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into Vision 2030. The nine projects include a $4 billion steel plate complex for shipbuilding, projects in the oil and gas, construction and defense sectors, and a “green” steel complex, which will provide cars and packaging materials. Food, machinery and equipment, and other industrial sectors. Both projects are already underway, as is the $2 billion Electric Battery Metal Factory. And last month, the Saudi government signed an agreement to buy between 50,000 and 100,000 electric cars over a ten-year period from Lucid Group, in which the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, has a majority stake. Al-Khorayef said that the projects will provide more than 14,000 job opportunities. He added that the ministry is now examining 145 exploration license applications from foreign companies. Al-Khorayef said in the statement that the investments will continue to make the Kingdom a hub for production, mining and logistics in a region stretching from Africa to Asia and also support the transformation of the Saudi mining sector so that it can realize its full potential.