Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail said that the Kingdom was working to transform at least 10 Saudi cities to become among the top 50 global cities, by achieving the factors of governance, sustainability, and interaction with residents.
His remarks came on the sidelines of the Global Smart City Forum, organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) on Monday in Riyadh with the participation of world experts in the field of building smart cities and artificial intelligence.
Smart municipalities
Al-Hogail noted that the ministry’s strategy was based on Vision 2030 and was aimed at urban growth and portraying cities as vibrant centers of sustainable development and technology, where the aspirations and well-being of people are met.
He added that the strategy achieves the concept of smart municipalities and develops urban centers in existing cities, by taking advantage of AI technology and data.
Smart applications
Al-Hogail went on to say that the ministry aims for the well-being of the population by laying the foundations for smart cities and municipalities, as part of its steps to enhance community interaction in the “Baladi” application, which has received global praise as one of the most prominent smart applications in the United Nations.
For his part, Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, head of SDAIA, explained that the forum aims to achieve three goals: anticipating sustainable smart cities in the future, promoting smart government initiatives worldwide, and motivating companies to invest in building smart solutions.
He stated that in 2023, the joint efforts of government agencies that used the national smart cities platform “Smart C” contributed to reducing traffic congestion on a road network leading to the site of a huge conference in Riyadh by 36 percent, compared to 2022.
Al-Ghamdi also revealed the launch of the Smart Cities Accelerator with strong participation from local and international startups, which created commercial opportunities and facilitated market access for more than 100 teams from 39 universities.
