The “White Lands” program announced the disbursement of 9.2 million riyals to complete infrastructure work on two residential projects in Al-Ahsa Governorate in the Eastern Province, noting that this amount represents part of the program’s revenues collected from fees imposed on undeveloped land within the urban boundaries of cities subject to the system in its first phase.
The program clarified that Article 15 of the Executive Regulations for White Land Fees stipulates that the amounts collected shall be allocated to the development of infrastructure projects in accordance with the following text: “The Ministry shall determine the allocation—from the special account for collected fees and fines—to housing projects, the provision of public utilities to them, and the provision of public services therein.”
The program confirmed that this is part of a comprehensive plan to allocate revenues collected from fees toward infrastructure development and the provision of public services in a number of housing projects, and is working to implement it continuously to address the needs of a number of housing projects, noting that the areas of expenditure include the construction of power stations and the provision of electricity and water services.
It is worth noting that “White Lands” recently announced the start of fee collection in new cities, namely: (Medina, Asir Capital, Taif, Jazan Region, Tabuk, Al-Ahsa), in addition to (Riyadh, Makkah, Dammam, and Jeddah); The program aims to finalize preparations for implementing land fees in additional cities. All details regarding billing cycles for cities subject to the system can be viewed by visiting the following link: https://lands.housing.sa/ar.
The Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the executive regulations of the Vacant Land Fees System, The amendment includes the definition of three implementation phases: the “first” phase covers undeveloped land with an area of 10,000 square meters or more, located within the scope determined by the Ministry; and the ”second” stage covers developed land with an area of 10,000 m² or more and developed land owned by a single owner, with an area of 10,000 m² or more within a single plan within the scope determined by the Ministry, and “the third” developed land with an area of 5,000 m² or more and the total developed land owned by a single owner, with an area of 10,000 m² or more in a single city within the scope determined by the Ministry.
The amendments also included the possibility of applying more than one phase in a single city, in addition to the Ministry conducting periodic reviews of the situation in any city to determine the application of fees on land therein, or to suspend the application or implement one or more phases, in order to bypass a specific phase and move to the next phase in the same city.