White Lands Program to Register More than 20 Million SQM of Developed Lands in Riyadh

The Saudi Minister of Housing attends the launch of the Maskan Real Estate Exhibition in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Minister of Housing attends the launch of the Maskan Real Estate Exhibition in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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White Lands Program to Register More than 20 Million SQM of Developed Lands in Riyadh

The Saudi Minister of Housing attends the launch of the Maskan Real Estate Exhibition in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Minister of Housing attends the launch of the Maskan Real Estate Exhibition in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s White Lands Program will register in 20 days more than 20 million square meters of developed lands in Riyadh.

The program expects that the new inventory will provide about 60,000 plots of land with an average area of 350 square meters, which can pump hundreds of thousands of housing units into real estate in Riyadh.

During its participation in the Maskan Real Estate Exhibition, the program indicated that Riyadh acquired the largest share of the total undeveloped raw lands registered in the program, with about 100 million square meters of land that is currently being developed.

The White Lands Program seeks to increase the supply of developed lands in a manner that achieves a balance between supply and demand, the availability of residential lands at reasonable prices, the protection of fair competition, and the reduction of monopoly.

The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, inaugurated on Thursday the Maskan Real Estate Exhibition, which will be held over four days, with the participation of a number of real estate developers, exhibitors, and experts in real estate affairs and financing agencies.

The exhibition saw the signing of seven agreements between the ministry’s real estate development body and a number of real estate companies, in addition to the launch of five funds that would provide about 5,000 housing units.

Al-Hogail pointed to great efforts to increase the supply of new residential units and lands, with the aim to cover the current and future demand for housing by 2030.

The minister said that the number of factories working in the real estate sector increased by 31 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021.

The Maskan Real Estate Exhibition will display the best options and solutions for the beneficiaries through financing offers from banks and financing agencies. The forum seeks to facilitate home ownership procedures and provide solutions and products to increase the real estate supply, especially in Riyadh. The exhibition witnessed the signing of a number of partnerships and agreements in the real estate development sector.



Saudi Arabia Boosts Appeal as Foreign Investment Inflows Surge 44%

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA) 
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA) 
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Saudi Arabia Boosts Appeal as Foreign Investment Inflows Surge 44%

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA) 
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA) 

Saudi Arabia is advancing rapidly toward its Vision 2030 goals, recording a notable surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first quarter of this year. Inflows rose 44% year-on-year to SAR 22.2 billion ($6 billion), up from SAR 15.5 billion ($4 billion) in the same period of 2024. The growth comes amid government efforts to attract investors and position the Kingdom as a global economic hub.

Attracting more FDI is central to Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify the economy beyond oil, stimulate private sector growth, and create jobs. Saudi Arabia aims to draw $100 billion in FDI by 2030, expand spending on “giga-projects,” and develop sectors including tourism, sports, and entertainment.

According to data from the General Authority for Statistics, total inbound FDI reached about SAR 24 billion ($6.4 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 24% increase compared to the same quarter in 2024. However, it dipped 6% from the previous quarter’s SAR 25.6 billion ($6.8 billion).

Outbound FDI dropped sharply, totaling SAR 1.8 billion ($480 million) in Q1 2025, a 54% decrease from SAR 3.9 billion ($1 billion) in the prior-year period. Compared to the previous quarter, outbound flows rose slightly by 7%.

Since 2021, Riyadh has required international companies seeking government contracts to establish regional headquarters in the Kingdom. Authorities have also pledged to modernize investment regulations to improve the business environment.

According to the Vision 2030 annual report, FDI as a share of GDP hit its 2023 target, with inflows reaching SAR 96 billion ($25.6 billion), up 50% from 2022 (excluding the exceptional Aramco transaction). However, the indicator declined by 1.31 percentage points between 2021 and 2023 due to weaker net inflows in 2021 and 2022 as global investors faced liquidity pressures from rising interest rates.

Despite this, data shows steady progress toward sustainable growth. FDI is becoming more diverse, spreading across industries and regions rather than concentrating solely in oil or the eastern provinces. This trend reflects greater investor confidence and supports efforts to attract long-term capital.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia adopted a new methodology for calculating FDI statistics in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund to improve data quality and transparency. As a result, historical figures were updated, with 2020 set as the reference baseline.