This came during his speech at the 21st edition of the government press conference held on Monday evening in Khuzam, Riyadh, in conjunction with the release of the annual report of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for 2024, with the participation of His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail.
His Excellency said: “The annual report of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for 2024 is not only to celebrate the achievements, just as there are great numbers achieved six years ahead of time, there are other numbers presented in the report that we aspire to achieve, but have not yet been achieved, and although they are few compared to the achievements in the vision, but one of the most important premises of the vision is full transparency, which emphasizes the importance of full transparency. is full transparency, which His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, always emphasizes and directs all officials in the country, because there can be no journey without clarity, and the citizen today is the most important partner in this journey.”
The Minister of Information added: “9 years ago, when the Kingdom's Vision 2030 was launched, it was an unprecedented promise of a clear roadmap with many challenges, but the ambition of the Saudis was greater than these challenges, and as His Highness the Crown Prince stated that the vision is the world's biggest success story in the 21st century, inspiring humanity, building the earth, and making history.”
Minister Al Dosari reviewed the most important results of the Vision 2030. Minister Al Dosari reviewed the most prominent results of the annual report of the vision, which indicates that the percentage of initiatives completed or proceeding according to their time plans reached 85%, and 93% of indicators of national programs and strategies achieved their targets. The vision is based on an integrated structure that includes three main axes (a vibrant society, a prosperous economy and an ambitious nation), including 96 detailed goals, which are implemented through vision programs and national sectoral and regional strategies, which are integrated in governance in the interest of achieving ambitions and accelerating the pace of achievement.
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Achieving eight key targets
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<Speaking about Vision 2030, His Excellency pointed out that eight key targets were achieved six years ahead of schedule, most notably women's participation in the labor market reached 36%, the unemployment rate fell to the target of 7%, the number of regional headquarters of global companies exceeded 571 companies, the number of volunteers exceeded 1. 2 million, and the number of non-governmental activities exceeded 1.2 million volunteers, non-oil activities reaching 51% of GDP, non-oil exports rising by 73% since 2016 to reach 307.4 billion riyals, and the trade balance surplus growing by 192% to reach 474.9 billion riyals.
He added that the targets achieved ahead of schedule included the doubling of the Public Investment Fund's assets to 3.53 trillion riyals, the Kingdom maintaining its lead in the Middle East and North Africa in venture investment with a share of 40%, reaching the seventh place globally in the e-participation index, and advancing 30 places in the United Nations e-Government Development Index to reach the sixth place globally, approaching the 2030 target.
Speaking about the achieved targets, His Excellency continued: ”98% of litigation sessions in the Kingdom were held electronically in 2024, at a rate exceeding 2.The Kingdom ranks first globally in the number of Internet users and second globally in the index of digital transformation of companies, while entertainment events received about 77 million visitors in 2024, reflecting remarkable growth in this sector, and Qiddiya destinations are witnessing tangible progress in construction work, with the completion rate in Aquaribia Park reaching 81% and SIX FLAGS Park reaching 87%, while international tourism revenues increased by 148% compared to 2019."
His Excellency continued.
Minister Al Dosari pointed out that Medina was ranked among the top 100 global tourist destinations for 2024, AlUla was the first destination in the Middle East to be accredited by the International Organization of Tourist Destinations, the Kingdom hosted global initiatives, created the eSports World Cup in 2024 and hosted its first edition, and the Kingdom advanced 20 places in the Global Competitiveness Index to reach 16th place.
He added: 4 Saudi universities were ranked among the top 500 universities globally, with King Saud University entering the list of the top 100 universities to rank 90th in the world, the entry of the Virtual Health Hospital into the Guinness Book of Records, 7 Saudi hospitals among the top 250 hospitals globally, the readiness of health zones to face risks reached 92%, and the Kingdom topped the G20 countries in the safety index.
In the sports field, His Excellency praised the targets achieved, which were represented in winning the Kingdom's hosting of the 2034 World Cup, which constitutes a historic event in a step that confirms the Kingdom's status as a global destination for the most important international events and events by hosting the historically largest version, and the number of sports federations increased by 200% to 97, and the average weekly exercise for (150) minutes increased to 58.5%, pointing to the environmental achievements of rehabilitating 118,000 hectares of degraded land, localizing more than 7,800 endangered animals, establishing the first solar-powered desalination plant with a capacity of 60,000 cubic meters per day, and operating 4 additional renewable energy projects.
The Minister of Information stressed that the wise leadership has made the citizen the center of its attention in all needs, especially the housing sector, which receives very high personal attention from His Highness the Crown Prince.Noting the recent decisions aimed at achieving real estate balance, and his personal donation in favor of developmental housing in the amount of one billion riyals, pointing out that this support is completely separate from existing and future housing projects, and this generous and unsurprising support comes from the deep belief of His Royal Highness in the necessity of charitable giving to non-profit projects and associations in the Kingdom of Goodness, benevolence and giving.
Minister of Housing and Municipalities
For his part, the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Haqeel, during the government press conference, expressed his thanks to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for his generous personal initiative to donate one billion riyals from his own expense to support <a href="https://amlak. net.sa/77287/77287/<a href="https://amlak.This initiative confirms His Highness's deep concern for providing a decent life and achieving psychological and social stability for citizens, and is an extension of His Highness's march in supporting developmental and charitable programs and the established mission with this donation.
His Excellency reviewed the most prominent transformations witnessed by the municipalities and housing system, which were not just procedural reforms, but a comprehensive transformation journey put by the wise leadership at the heart of the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, stressing that the municipal and housing sector has an active role in supporting the economy and contributing to the realization of a number of national strategies, such as investment strategy, industry, transportation and logistics, pointing out that according to economic experts" estimates, the contribution of the municipal and housing sector in the GDP reached approximately 14% (this represents 505 economic activities supervised by the ministry in the municipal and housing sectors), and its contribution to creating a...
16% contribution of the construction sector
His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing explained that the contribution of the construction and building sectors and real estate activities is more than 16% of the total FDI inflows, reflecting investor confidence in the readiness of cities and the regulatory environment that is being continuously developed, pointing out that the size of the real estate sector will increase from about 170 billion riyals in 2018 to more than 850 billion riyals in 2024.
He said: “We worked during the past period in the municipal and housing sector to redefine the city as a balanced, green, smart environment that meets the needs of residents and visitors to make our cities among the best in the world,” he said, highlighting some of the priorities that we focus on today, divided into five axes, namely promoting urban development and improving the urban landscape, as improving the urban appearance or developing infrastructure is not enough, and the real goal was deeper, and to achieve this required The “Saudi Architecture” project was launched under the guidance of His Highness the Crown Prince to enrich the urban landscape through 19 architectural styles that reflect the Kingdom's cultural and natural heritage and contribute to the implementation of innovative and sustainable design guidelines that celebrate urban diversity and seek to create vibrant urban environments.
In the same context, he explained that the "Bahja" project was launched to improve residential neighborhoods and transform them into more comfortable and beautiful environments, as more than 1000 parks have been developed and renovated during the past three years, including more than 100 cities and governorates, pointing out that the ministry is working in cooperation with development authorities to have local and regional plans in all cities of the Kingdom in line with the requirements of urban development and the different needs of the population, targeting by the end of this year to increase residents" access to public spaces within 800 meters by 61%, and strive with the launch of Saudi architecture to enhance visual attractiveness and activate architecture identities in 12 secretariats by the end of the year.
H.E. Al-Haqeel spoke about improving the quality of services and raising the rate of compliance: With regard to the quality of services in the municipal sector, we were keen from day one to ensure that the city is not just a place to live, but an integrated space for life, and the picture was clear, so we started by activating a city monitoring center and providing a holistic view (city view) to control the quality of services, reducing the duration of issuing licenses to less than 48 hours, and the closure rate of reports exceeded 94%, as the total number of building compliance certificates reached more than 70 thousand certificates in various regions of the Kingdom."
Decrease in visual distortion index
He explained that visual distortions have been removed from more than 65 million square meters in various regions of the Kingdom, and the visual distortion index has decreased from (1230) to (105) in priority areas, in order to ensure reaching a regulatory coverage of all major cities by 90%, and activating legislative and regulatory tools that ensure the sustainability of visual distortion treatments in coordination with service agencies to raise the quality of life in cities.In the past, the municipal system was heavily dependent on government support, with varying levels of spending efficiency and revenue development plans, but the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and its transformational initiatives have made us today on the verge of achieving financial sustainability and working to capitalize on the competitive advantages in cities, noting the most prominent achievements during the past three years only, as investment contracts were signed in the municipal sector worth about 19 billion riyals to develop infrastructure and services in cities, and revenues increased from 6.3 billion riyals in 2020 to 22 billion riyals in 2020. He emphasized the ministry's endeavor to achieve financial sustainability in the municipal sector in Titles 1, 2 and 3 by the end of the year, and its work to achieve 25 billion riyals of invoiced revenues this year.
H.E. Al-Haqeel discussed the journey of housing transformation, noting that the housing sector has witnessed a transformation since 2018 by working on a number of axes, most notably the development of an integrated legislative system that regulates the market and preserves rights, the modernization of the real estate registration system, integration with the financial sector (SRC and banks) to stimulate mortgages and regulate the financing environment In addition to launching more than 11 different financing solutions, and continuing to work on modernizing the housing support program to be more flexible and fair, as the efforts contributed to the ownership of more than 850,000 Saudi families, raising the ownership rate to 65%.4%, providing adequate housing for more than 50,000 of the neediest families, of which more than 43,000 families owned their homes, providing alternative rental solutions for families facing difficulties in paying rent, maintaining the home ownership rate of 65%, reaching the rates of ownership of housing units by Saudi families to 70% in 2030, and launching more than 145,000 housing units at the level of the Kingdom, including 145 thousand housing units across the Kingdom, including 20 thousand housing units whose prices do not exceed 450 thousand riyals, providing continuous housing support to the neediest families by securing home ownership for families, bringing the total number of families to 64 thousand families who owned their homes, and supporting financial entities in the mortgage market to reach 959 billion riyals by 2025.
His Excellency appreciated the generous support provided by the wise leadership during Ramadan this year for the Joud Areas 2 campaign by providing 150 million riyals, and thanked all those who contributed to supporting the Joud Areas 2 campaign, stressing that this generosity contributed to realizing the dream of decent housing for deserving families, and embodied the values of solidarity and giving in our dear country.
Directives to balance supply and demand
<In the face of this challenge, the generous directives of His Highness the Crown Prince - may God protect him - provided a clear roadmap that leads the real estate sector and the population to balance, the features of which have begun to appear in the real estate market, and the authorities charged with implementing these directives worked directly on their implementation as the suspensions on lands north of Riyadh were lifted within hours of the generous directive, and the amended system of white land fees will be issued according to the specified timeframe.
