Saudi Arabia plans to set up an 'industrial zone' to the value of SR2 billion ($533 million) behind the walls of a prison complex.

The head of Haer prison and the government's Industrial Cities Authority signed a contract to attract private sector investment, which would provide 3,000-5,000 jobs, apparently for prisoners, Saudi media said on Wednesday.

Haer is a high-security prison near Riyadh which has been the centre of accusations by opposition figures of maltreatment of prisoners. Last year mobile telephone images of guards beating inmates became public on the Internet.

'The project will rehabilitate and train inmates of the facility to undertake jobs that will help everyone,' a statement sent to Reuters by the Authority said.

It was not clear what industries would be targeted inside the zone, which has been allocated 1 million square metres (274 acres) inside Haer.

The government is setting up a series of 'economic cities' in an effort to diversify the country's economy away from oil. Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter.-Reuters