More than 100 days have passed since the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz —may God preserve him—assumed the reins of power in the Kingdom, and this period has been closely followed and closely watched by analysts and observers due to the important decisions and fundamental changes it has witnessed in most of the executive agencies that provide direct services to citizens, which has had a positive impact on the people’s confidence in the future amid regional instability.
In his first official speech, King Salman devoted considerable attention to the issue of housing and reassured everyone by saying “We are determined, by God’s will and strength, to develop urgent, practical solutions that ensure the provision of adequate housing for citizens.” These words were sincere and reflected the leadership’s empathy for the concerns of citizens, whom it regards as a rich resource and human capital—a source of love and appreciation that it seeks to preserve by providing the means for a dignified life. Accordingly, in his historic speech, King Salman allocated 20 billion to develop housing projects, connect electricity, extend water supply, and build other infrastructure needed by the outskirts of cities, villages, and hamlets that await development with people living in their homes.
One hundred days clearly defined the leadership’s plans to move forward with a radical solution to the housing issue when the leader set the course toward the business community and described them as “development partners,” in line with the decisions of the Ministry of Housing, which is placing the “housing horse” in front of the private sector’s cart and forming strategic partnerships with them to contribute to the construction and marketing of suitable housing for those eligible for housing support. Amid the current discussions, we must give due credit to the Real Estate Fund, which has disbursed three rounds of real estate loans totaling nearly 10 billion riyals to more than 19,635 borrowers.
We therefore hope that the transformation of the Real Estate Development Fund into an investment bank will fulfill our wise government’s aspirations for it to become an entity with its own resources, dedicated to serving citizens and reducing waiting lists. In this issue, we also present a summary of what has been accomplished in the first 100 days regarding housing and the Real Estate Fund.
Editor-in-Chief
