His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Haqeel, inaugurated the two-day “Engineering and Quality of Life” forum, organized by the Saudi Institution of Engineers in strategic partnership with the Quality of Life Program.
He explained that the forum is a strategic platform that aims to highlight the vital intersection between engineering and quality of life. Al-Haqeel explained that the forum is a strategic platform that aims to highlight the vital overlap between engineering and quality of life, and emphasizes the role of the engineering sector in achieving the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which seeks to create an integrated vital environment that combines innovation, sustainable development and human well-being.
Al-Haqeel said that the forum is a strategic platform that aims to highlight the vital overlap between engineering and quality of life. “We realize that the quality of life is inseparable from modern urban planning. Cities are not only urban agglomerations, but environments that vibrate with life and harmony between man and place.” He said: “Humanizing cities” and ”promoting sustainability” in housing projects and urban development are among our top strategic priorities. We also set our sights on making Saudi cities a global model in achieving a balance between urban development and human needs in line with the directives of the wise leadership.“
The Minister of Municipalities stressed that the engineering sector should be a global model in balancing urban development and human needs in line with the directives of the wise leadership.
<The Minister of Municipalities and Housing emphasized the Kingdom's commitment to enhancing the quality of life as a key pillar to achieve the ambitious vision, where various national efforts intersect with the engineering, economic and social sectors to achieve sustainable development. <For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Institution of Engineers, Engineer Ahmed bin Tarees Al-Sheikh, said: ”Under the Kingdom's Vision 2030, engineering has been the beating heart by contributing to transforming ideas into reality that meets the ambitions of the country and the citizen.“ He stressed that world-class infrastructure is one of the main pillars of the vision, and mega projects such as NEOM, The Line and Qiddiya are not just engineering achievements; they are future models that redefine the concept of urban life and embody the integration between sustainability, innovation and advanced technology to ensure the highest quality of life standards.
He pointed out that the leadership of the Saudi Council of Engineers is the most important factor in achieving the vision. He pointed out that the Kingdom's leadership has attached great importance to empowering future generations, investing in the future, and working to graduate a new generation of creative leaders who will lead the development process and take engineering to broader horizons, by investing in STEM education and establishing research centers and innovation incubators.
He pointed out that the Kingdom's leadership has attached great importance to empowering future generations, investing in STEM education, and establishing research centers and innovation incubators. He drew attention to the fact that the Saudi Board of Engineers has kept pace with the Kingdom's role as a global leader in the field of engineering, and seeks to reformulate its strategy with a comprehensive vision that elevates the value of engineering work and puts engineers at the center of the development and innovation process, through localizing expertise, enhancing capabilities, and developing a promising generation of engineering competencies capable of achieving leadership locally and globally.
In turn, the President of the Saudi Board of Engineers explained the importance of the engineering profession in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Khalid bin Abdullah Al Baker, CEO of the Quality of Life Program, explained that the initiatives of the Quality of Life Program aim to improve the urban landscape in Saudi cities and develop services to be friendly to humans and the environment, stimulate the prosperity of the economy and achieve the ambitions of the nation, pointing out that the development of infrastructure in cities is a real engineering challenge, and with sustainable planning, engineering addresses the priority of basic services that hinder the vitality of society.
In turn, the CEO of the Quality of Life Program, Khalid bin Abdullah Al Baker As part of the program initiatives, the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing launched the ”Agood“ initiative, which focuses on applying the highest standards of sustainability and quality of life locally and internationally in residential projects and communities. We also witnessed the development and establishment of 149 public parks and the planting of more than 8 million trees with the adoption of 7 local and regional plans in various regions of the Kingdom during 2024. He pointed out that during the current year we signed more than 6 thousand contracts through the ”Opportunities“ platform and contracts worth more than 5 billion riyals in the municipal sector and these are opportunities for engineers to contribute in sustainable planning for cities.
On the sidelines of the opening, the Saudi Council of Engineers signed 6 cooperation agreements with the Ministry of Health, the General Authority for Competition, the General Authority for Transport, King Abdulaziz University, the National Water Transport Company and Assas Real Estate, as part of initiatives aimed at contributing to achieving the goals of Vision 2030.
The forum's agenda includes four panel discussions on ”The Impact of Quality of Life in Empowering Government Agencies (Opportunities and Challenges)”, ”Quality of Life and the Transformation Journey of Saudi Cities”, ”Urban Future Vision for Urban Heritage in Sustainable Tourism Development“, ”The Impact of Quality of Life in Empowering the Private Sector (Opportunities and Challenges)", three workshops and an accompanying exhibition to review the most important quality of life models and sustainable infrastructure projects in the Kingdom.
The forum will be held in conjunction with a number of workshops and an accompanying exhibition to showcase the most important quality of life models and sustainable infrastructure projects in the Kingdom.
