The Ministry of Housing has intensified its efforts to expand participation through internal and external partnerships to accelerate the pace of solving the housing crisis. The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Korean companies signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Ministry of Housing to establish a huge project of 100,000 housing units in Saudi Arabia, specifically in Riyadh, at an estimated cost of $18 to $20 billion.
Housing partnerships
The Korean news agency explained According to the memorandum signed with the Saudi Ministry of Housing, represented by its Minister Majid Al-Hogail, in Seoul, Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Hanwha Engineering & Construction Group will participate in a consortium to build a new city on an area of 38 square kilometers, located 14 kilometers south of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. 100,000 housing units (apartments and villas).
She explained that the consortium that the two Korean companies will join is led by a local construction company called "SABIC", noting that the terms of the contract and other details are expected to be revealed when the final agreement is signed next October.
The Ministry of Housing stated in a statement that its Minister, Majid Al-Hogail, signed a memorandum of understanding for joint cooperation in the field of housing with the Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
The Ministry of Housing stated in a statement: "This memorandum aims to establish joint cooperation in the field of housing, create channels for exchanging administrative and technical expertise, and prepare appropriate ways for entities and companies belonging to either party to participate in implementing housing and infrastructure projects in the other party."
Korean experience
This visit by a delegation from the Ministry of Housing, headed by the Minister, to the Republic of South Korea comes to learn about the pioneering Korean experience in the field of housing and to discuss ways of partnership and cooperation with this friendly country.
The agreement included multiple areas of cooperation, most notably the exchange of experiences, information and knowledge regarding housing development and management, the implementation of housing projects, the development of methods and techniques of construction adopted in the two countries, and benefiting from successful experiences in implementing housing policies in the two countries, in addition to benefiting from the great expertise of leading Korean housing companies in this field.
The memorandum also stipulated encouraging companies in both countries to participate in the implementation of housing projects for all segments of society, encouraging joint initiatives in design and construction in the housing sector, and cooperation in the field of engineering laboratories related to construction, housing finance and welfare that provides citizens with competitive housing environments. It also emphasized the field of designing and implementing the infrastructure for housing projects.
joint workshops
The ministry stated that the memorandum includes organizing joint seminars and workshops to discuss issues related to areas of cooperation, as well as encouraging visits between specialists from both countries, participation in training courses, conferences, seminars and workshops related to housing cooperation areas, and encouraging research related to this field, thus creating a competitive and creative practical and scientific environment.
This visit comes within the framework of international cooperation between the Ministry of Housing and similar ministries in brotherly and friendly countries, and in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, his Crown Prince and Deputy Crown Prince – may God protect them – to accelerate the housing file and keep pace with the most prominent developments in this important file so that the Ministry can provide the citizen with what befits his aspirations in the field of housing.
