Al-Haqil: We are working on several programs and initiatives that support the concept of sustainable cities and provide a suitable environment for city residents.

Monday 08 June 2026
الحقيل: نعمل على العديد من البرامج والمبادرات الداعمة لمفهوم المدن المستدامة وتوفير بيئة مناسبة لسكان المدن

His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, stated that the Ministry has worked on many programs and initiatives that support the concept of sustainable cities, which will be reflected in their development and improvement, with the aim of providing a suitable environment for city residents that includes all the necessary services and facilities, and enhances the concept of quality of life and facilitates access to various needs. Work is also underway to develop, improve and enhance the quality of infrastructure work in Saudi cities at the level of various services.

This came during the ministerial session in which His Excellency participated as part of the “National Transformation.. A Reality We Live In” forum, in the presence of a number of Their Excellencies and Highnesses, to discuss the most prominent developments and efforts achieved by the National Transformation Program since its launch in June 2016, which is being held today in the capital, Riyadh.

Al-Haqil stated that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing plays an active and important role in the journey of development and growth of Saudi cities and their urban sustainability. He explained that the Ministry, through its various sectors, programs and initiatives, contributes to supporting the achievement of more than 30% of the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, and is linked to more than 60% of total economic activities. It also contributes directly and indirectly to meeting the daily needs of city residents and providing more than 40% of services through 17 secretariats and 286 municipalities. The Ministry is also working in partnership with a number of relevant entities to reach the fifteenth position among the G20 countries, by allocating 65% of the economy, and targeting to receive more than 100 million visitors by the year 2030, in addition to ranking at least 3 Saudi cities among the top 100 cities in the world to live in in terms of quality of life, which is being worked on through several steps, the most important of which is developing urban standards in cities in line with raising the levels of city economies by adopting the concepts of quality of life and enhancing the lifestyle of residents and sustainable development.

During his speech on the sustainability of cities, His Excellency pointed out that the Ministry is working in partnership and integration with a number of relevant bodies to promote the concept of sustainable cities, protect heritage culture, reduce the environmental impact of cities, and develop easy access to public facilities and green spaces, in order to achieve the highest levels of efficiency in reaching a quality of life that meets the aspirations of the residents, through spatial planning, improving the urban landscape and everything that includes raising the quality of life.

Al-Haqil explained that during the past period, the ministry made great strides in addressing some challenges, which resulted in several initiatives, the most important of which was the launch of the Public Space Improvement Program with a package of initiatives that ensure the sustainability of cities, improve the lifestyle of residents, and raise the levels of quality of life, and the start of preparing public policies for the urban planning system and updating planning standards and legislation for Saudi cities, and the immediate issuance of many municipal licenses, and facilitating the journey of beneficiaries to obtain services. Work was also done to develop housing options and products that suit the needs and aspirations of Saudi families, along with developing and updating systems and legislation specific to the real estate sector.

His Excellency added that the Ministry’s work to keep pace with the goals of the National Transformation and the goals of Vision 2030 was carried out through several supporting paths, including the smart municipalities path, through which the Ministry was able to reach more than 90% of municipal services being provided digitally, which contributed to raising the quality of services provided to citizens and residents, and the path of increasing visual attractiveness through the creation of a comprehensive national plan to address the manifestations of visual pollution in Saudi cities to deal with 43 elements of visual pollution, where corrective, treatment and monitoring plans were put in place to achieve the aspirations of citizens and residents and contribute to improving the urban landscape, in addition to the path of humanizing residential projects and developing the concept of the model residential neighborhood so that it includes all daily needs and main gathering and entertainment areas that can be reached on foot in a maximum of 15 minutes.

Al-Haqil addressed the qualitative shift in the ministry’s projects through effective partnership with the private sector, praising the results achieved so far, including the adoption of privatization for 3 municipal services, the commencement of privatization for 8 regulatory tracks, and the growth of municipal sector revenues thanks to partnership models with the private sector in developing investment assets to reach 15.6 billion by the end of 2022, and the issuance of more than 25,000 instant licenses for more than 154 activities, which contributed to improving the Kingdom’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index, in addition to reducing the time required to obtain licenses to one month and reducing the number of requirements from 230 requirements to 80 requirements or less.

His Excellency concluded by saying that work is progressing rapidly and efforts are continuing for the future of Saudi cities, raising the level of urban sustainability and improving the quality of life, in addition to working to make the cities attractive to residents and visitors, both touristically and economically, by working on developing urban plans and harmonizing planning and implementation, utilizing public space and increasing the visual appeal of cities, and improving the quality of life for residents by enhancing access to facilities, parks and public squares through the establishment and development of walkways and access means in all regions of the Kingdom, in addition to increasing the provision of opportunities for the private sector and benefiting from all available expertise in various fields, by working on privatizing 70% of municipal services.

It is worth noting that the National Transformation Forum aims to review the most prominent achievements of the National Transformation Program in its six years through its system and initiatives, which comes in conjunction with the launch of its annual report for 2022, in addition to reviewing the extent of its progress in achieving its goals through performance measurement indicators, targets and values achieved for 2022.

 

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia