With large-scale global events such as the Expo and the World Cup, a booming local tourism market that’s constantly developing new destinations, and policies that seek to attract foreign investors, Saudi Arabia is taking all the steps to make a mark on the world stage and become a global city.
His Excellency Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Municipalities and Housing, spoke to Economy Middle East at Cityscape Global 2024, about the Kingdom’s changing legislative landscape, a growing expat population, and a bustling real estate market that’s fuelling the change.
Edited excerpts:
What is the significance of Cityscape for Saudi Arabia and the broader real estate and urban development of the Kingdom?
Cityscape is a global event that gathers investors, buyers, developers and government agencies from around the world. We are very proud to see Cityscape bring about a transformation in the scale of projects in the Kingdom. Cityscape has attracted representatives from 50 countries and 67 developers.
It’s also very encouraging to see banks and mortgage companies come together to compete for the demand the event presents. Moreover, architects and engineering offices are also actively participating at Cityscape.
In the future, we would like to see Saudi Arabia become a destination for any global real estate event.
What kind of work is your ministry doing to attract more foreign investors? What’s the role of Cityscape in showcasing these opportunities?
Over the last five years, Saudi Arabia has been highly focused on improving legislation.
We have passed more than 20 legislations over the last four to five years to make sure investors are protected when they do business in Saudi Arabia. The legislation provides assistance to stakeholders, even as it ensures a transparent market. Most importantly, the legislations are focused on the ease of doing business in Saudi Arabia.
After the legislations were passed and we opened the market, we received a positive all-round response.
Cityscape is a perfect destination for international investors to meet and exchange ideas. Not only that, the event helps them explore how they can not only develop their own product but the whole Saudi market.
Read | Cityscape Global 2024: Sustainable Diriyah master plan draws crowds
With the global economic landscape changing, what measures are being taken by the Saudi real estate market to ensure that resilience and growth are not affected?
Strong local demand has a big role to play here. As you know, we are a young population.
Next, Saudi Arabia has a rich calendar of events lined up, such as Expo 2030 and FIFA World Cup 2034. These events will help us showcase our country to the world and create demand.
If you go to Riyadh alone, you have projects like Qiddiya, Murabba and Diriyah, which will help attract visitors and boost tourism.
Along with this, Saudi Arabia has a program to attract regional offices of global companies to the Kingdom. This, in turn, will create talent.
Our aim is to create a Saudi Arabia that’s not only for locals but for global citizens.
If you look at the population mix of Riyadh, you will find that 45 percent of the people are expats. So, it’s already an international city. International cities demand a different product, a different quality of offering. That’s what we are working towards.
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