The Saudi Ministry of Housing announced Thursday that the Eskan Program signed two agreements and a memorandum of understanding aiming at attracting more investments in the housing and construction sectors, reported the Saudi Press Agency. The deals were signed on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2018, held in Riyadh.
Through these agreements, the Kingdom aims to bring the best international technologies and further alliances with the best specialized companies in the field. The investments are:
- A Memorandum of cooperation between US-based Katerra and the Eskan Program to introduce modern and rapid construction methods to Saudi Arabia. The deal aims to build 50,000 housing units annually and six to eight plants specialized in modern construction technologies, in addition to creation of 15,000 jobs.
- A Memorandum of residential real estate development on the Al Asfar project, worth USD 2.7 billion. Signed between the PowerChina International Group, the Ministry of Housing and National Housing Company, it will see the construction of 17,000 housing units over the next six years. The project is expected to provide 4,000 jobs in the housing sector.
- A Memorandum of residential real estate development on the Telal Alghoroob project between the Sakani program, Alameriah and Sany (a Saudi – Chinese Partnership). This investment amounts to USD1.2 billion to build three housing projects with 9,500 housing units in Dammam and Jeddah.
Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Housing, said that these agreements will contribute to provide housing units with high quality and suitable prices, in addition to a creation of more than 15,000 jobs for the citizens through localization of these technologies in the Kingdom and building specialized plants.
The Kingdom’s investment attraction and promotion strategy is accelerating under the INVEST SAUDI initiative, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030. It seeks to support and build awareness of the significant opportunities that Saudi Arabia offers to international, regional and local investors, led by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in collaboration with partners across government.
Under INVEST SAUDI, FDI growth in the first half of 2018 expanded 90 percent compared to the same period last year, with the number of licenses nearly doubling by end of the third quarter.
Ash Bhardwaj Sales, Program Management, Software Development, Katerra said: “This strategic partnership will introduce modern and rapid construction methods to Saudi Arabia. We expect that there will be a high demand for these technologies in line with the government’s approach to adopt sustainable and energy-saving systems.”
Wu Wenhao, Branch General Manager and Vice-President of PowerChina International Group Ltd, said: “We are excited by the increased housing demand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the clear plan by the Ministry of Housing and Sakani Program to meet this demand in the Kingdom.”
Hejing Gao, General Manager of Sany-Alameriah, said: “The high demand for housing in Saudi Arabia and the government’s direction to initiate partnerships with the private sector and stimulate foreign investment have created an attractive environment for investment in this sector.”
