The Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment, Majid al-Qasabi, announced that the total number of projects approved in Makkah municipality during the current year reached $2.1 billion.
The Minister was speaking during the Second Session of Makkah Economic Forum in which he explained Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs is responsible for the infrastructure projects in the cities, starting with design and planning to implementation, supervision and maintenance through supervision and follow-up.
He pointed out that the municipal sector in Saudi Arabia consists of 268 municipalities and 17 secretariats, making the functions of the municipal sector huge and complex.
The sector is now aiming at improving the quality of services, engaging the private sector, encouraging cooperation and partnership with government agencies and raising the efficiency of infrastructure projects, the Minister noted.
The municipal sector is considered one of the most interdependent and interrelated with the private sector in development and investment, but cooperation between the public and private sectors had not yet reached the desired level.
Qasabi announced that the ministry is working to develop the investment and opportunities system through an investment opportunities platform and has established an electronic platform to transform the municipal service into digital.
Projects approved in the municipality during the current year amounted to SR8 billion distributed between Makkah, SR3.5 billions, Jeddah SR2.5 billion, and Taif SR2.2 billion.
The Minister stressed the need to stay up to date with all digital transformation with the adoption of the infrastructure of smart cities, pointing out that the municipal sector is working on developing a full program of partnership in order to improve services provided.
Asked about trade and investment, Qasabi explained that an integrated system and an e-commerce council have been established, adding that there are several initiatives to improve the business environment, including Tayseer and Meras.
Within two or three weeks, the Saudi Council of Economic Affairs will collect all related licenses from all parties under one digital platform, and procedures for licensing have been scaled down.
