The Ministry of Housing reaffirmed its commitment to the 120-day timeframe for completing the approval process for housing plans through the Real Estate Developers Services Center (Itmam) from the date the application is submitted, noting that this is intended to accelerate the introduction of housing projects into the market with diverse options that contribute to increasing homeownership rates, in line with the strategic goal of improving the real estate sector’s performance and boosting its contribution to GDP.
Mohammed bin Saud Al-Ghazwani, General Supervisor of the Real Estate Developers Services Center “Itmam,” explained that the center brings together representatives from 10 government agencies under one roof, noting that this aligns with the primary objective of reducing the time required to approve development plans, thereby ensuring the development of residential projects and enhancing access to suitable, high-quality housing at affordable prices, He noted that among these agencies are the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, the General Directorate of Civil Defense, the Saudi Electricity Company, the Meteorological Authority, the National Water Company, and the Geological Survey Authority.
Al-Ghazwani stated that the Center, through its efforts to expedite the licensing of residential plans, and shortening the timeframe—which used to take years—aims to resolve any issues developers may face and support them with enabling regulations, such as off-plan sales permits, which will serve as a source of funding for development.
He added: ”The main mission of the Developer Services Center is to work on overcoming the obstacles faced by real estate developers or other residential project owners that limit the speed of project completion, Furthermore, the Ministry of Housing, through the ”Itmam“ Center, is working to activate an integrated partnership with relevant authorities. The Center liaises with these authorities and representatives of real estate developers to ensure the continuous improvement of services and the removal of obstacles hindering projects, through periodic meetings where the status of applications with each agency is reviewed, in addition to discussing proposals for improving procedures and systems submitted by the center and developers,” noting that "Etam" works to monitor the completion of approvals and permits for residential or residential-commercial projects exceeding 50,000 square meters in area.
It is worth noting that the Al-Tawrin Service Center "Ittam" is one of the Ministry of Housing’s programs and initiatives aimed at supporting supply and stimulating demand, and facilitating citizens’ access to suitable housing with diverse options, high quality, and affordable prices, which results in an increase in homeownership rates, in addition to stimulating the private sector and building an effective partnership with citizens to enable them to obtain suitable housing and provide financing and savings solutions tailored to their housing needs, through homeownership pathways that ensure access to appropriate housing support at the earliest opportunity.
