Revision to Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan (NTP), dubbed ‘NTP 2.0’ that was released a year ago will keep key policies of fiscal reforms and a massive privatization program in place, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
“It is looking increasingly unlikely that some of the targets can be hit by their 2020 deadline, however, partly because they were complex and ambitious, and partly because inefficient ministries have had trouble implementing steps,” Reuters reports, citing information from unnamed people aware of the NTP 2.0. “The leadership is annoyed at some ministries for their lack of compliance and wants a reboot.”
According to Reuters, ten ministries are to be involved in the revised plan, the document shows, down from 18 in the original.
The existence of the document was first reported by the Financial Times. The draft document “strips out some areas earmarked for change and extend[s] the timeline of other targets” of the NTP. The changes will keep the deadline of 2020, but extend beyond that for some of the program’s initiatives, the FT reports.
The document is still reportedly in draft form and has not been published publicly.
