Saudi Arabia plans to build schools, hospitals, housing and other infrastructure projects as part of a five-year plan budgeted at $385 billion, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Ageing King Abdullah is under pressure to create jobs and build housing as the population grows and unemployment rises, hitting 10.5 per cent last year.
Two-thirds of Saudi nationals are under 30 years old and the kingdom has struggled to create jobs for them, partly because of a state education system focused more on religion than job skills and partly due to local firms often deciding to hire non-Saudis at lower wages.
The country's foreign population, many of them workers from India, Pakistan and the Philippines, jumped by 37 per cent in census data released last week.
The biggest Arab economy and world's top oil exporter, the kingdom's 1.44-trillion Saudi riyal ($385-billion) plan exceeds its previous five-year development plan by 67 per cent, SPA said.
It was announced by Economy and Planning Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed al Qusaibi after being approved by Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers on Monday, it said.
Mr al Qusaibi said it was important for the kingdom to invest in education as the oil-rich country looks to bolster other sectors.
Just over half the spending is devoted to manpower, education and training. That includes plans to build technology colleges and vocational schools while 19 per cent of the funds will be devoted to the health care sector and 7 per cent to housing.
Reuters