His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr, Governor of Al-Ahsa and Acting CEO of the Al-Ahsa Development Authority, participated today in a panel discussion titled “Comprehensive Regional Development—Progress, Partnerships, and Future Plans,” as part of the events of Cityscape International 2024 in Riyadh, under the theme “The Future of Living,” sponsored by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, and running through November 14.
During the panel discussion, His Highness reviewed efforts to develop Al-Ahsa as a sustainable tourist destination, highlighting strategic projects in collaboration with the Public Investment Fund and the Tourism Development Fund, valued at over 4 billion riyals. These projects include “Al-Aqeer, Dan, Downtown, and Seven,” which aim to develop 14 distinctive sites in the region. He noted that Al-Ahsa is projected to attract 4 million visitors in 2023, including 1.1 million international visitors, thereby boosting the local economy.
During his participation in a session at the Cityscape exhibition, His Highness Prince Saud bin Talal emphasized the importance of preserving Al-Ahsa’s cultural and historical heritage, which spans a civilization dating back 7,000 years, noting that 12 tangible and 30 intangible assets have been inscribed on UNESCO’s lists. He announced the establishment of a specialized department within the Al-Ahsa Development Authority to develop tourist sites and prepare them for sustainable investment.
His Highness also discussed the expansion plan for Al-Ahsa International Airport, aimed at increasing its capacity by 2,50% to reach one million passengers annually, as part of a broader strategy to strengthen infrastructure and support the region’s internal transportation network, thereby facilitating visitor traffic and improving the quality of life for residents.
His Highness noted that Al-Ahsa’s strategy is based on four pillars driving real estate development: the oasis, tourism, culture, and agriculture. We can see how modern projects relate to these pillars, such as Dan Company’s focus on rural lodges and farms, and Al-Aqeer Company’s beachfront project, along with similar opportunities offered by Oase, a company owned by the municipality, on Al-Aqeer Beach and at certain sites designated for hospitality. As everyone knows, Al-Ahsa is one of the most populous provinces and cities in terms of citizen population, which makes the residential sector in need of large-scale projects to meet demand, as we are currently seeing in Roshan, while the Municipality owns land totaling half a million square meters designated for residential investment.
His Highness the Governor of Al-Ahsa highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in achieving development goals, noting that these partnerships secure the funding and expertise necessary for economic growth and job creation, thereby ensuring long-term sustainability for Al-Ahsa.
He noted that Al-Ahsa is a pioneer in the field of digital transformation, particularly in the digitization of municipal services, through initiatives launched by the Al-Ahsa Municipality to improve service efficiency, such as “Real Estate Identity Registration,” “Electronic Linking of Deeds,” “the Saudi Building Code App,” and “the Investment Opportunities Map,” noting that these initiatives enhance transparency and speed in service delivery.
At the conclusion of the session, His Highness reviewed Al-Ahsa’s development priorities for the coming decade, in the context of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which includes infrastructure development and support for tourism, culture, and agriculture, He also announced a project to transform the Al-Ahsa Oasis into a nature reserve to protect biodiversity and natural resources.
Cityscape Exhibition Continues into Its Third Day
Cityscape Expo 2024 continues today into its third day, a global event hosted by the Kingdom for the second consecutive year under the theme “The Future of Living.“ The four-day event is taking place at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham, north of Riyadh, under the patronage of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, in partnership with the General Real Estate Authority, and the Housing Program—one of the Vision 2030 initiatives—and organized by "Tahaluf," a joint venture between the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, the Events Investment Fund, and Informa Global.
Opening of Cityscape Global
Last Monday, the opening ceremony of the second edition of Cityscape Global—the largest real estate exhibition inreal estate sector, His Excellency Majed Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipalities and Housing, amid significant attendance.
It is worth noting that the Cityscape World 2024 app helps visitors learn about the exhibition’s details and events, view its agenda and the locations of the main stages and signature experiences, and find out how to reach them easily and conveniently, It also provides bus schedules and locations for those wishing to take advantage of the free shuttle service for exhibition visitors.
