With the participation of the Ministries of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Justice, Transportation, Environment, Water, and Agriculture, as well as the Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers, the Ministry of Finance organized the first workshop for the project to develop mechanisms for the expropriation of real estate for public benefit. The workshop, held at the National Center for Financial and Economic Information, aimed to engage with stakeholders involved in the system for the expropriation of real estate for public benefit and the temporary seizure of property, and to brief experts in these fields on the project.
At the start of the workshop, on behalf of Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, Assistant Minister for Technical Financial Affairs Hindi Al-Suhaimi welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of this project, calling on them to continue their cooperation to ensure its success.
Subsequently, the Director General of the State Property Authority, Ahmed Al-Yahya, delivered a speech in which he addressed the importance of expropriation for public benefit and the need to review the system and develop expropriation and valuation mechanisms, taking into account the observations of all relevant government agencies; Then, Advisor Turki Al-Otaibi gave a presentation on the project and its objectives and phases, including a study of the current situation, a comparative study of international best practices, and proposals for expropriation and valuation mechanisms.
Following that, participants discussed the workshop’s key topics, which included the concept of expropriation for public benefit, preliminary studies and preparations prior to the expropriation decision, the issuance of the expropriation decision and the initiation of procedures, the inventory of properties and the assessment of compensation, objections and reassessment, eviction and transfer of ownership, the disbursement of compensation, and legal disputes.
The participation of experts enriched the discussion topics of this workshop; their views, observations, and suggestions regarding this phase and subsequent phases were received. Views were also exchanged on priority topics and areas of focus for the project, particularly those related to the system and its applications, as well as the difficulties, problems, and challenges faced by professionals involved in expropriation. Information on current procedural processes for the expropriation of real estate for public benefit was also collected and compiled.
