"The Future of Real Estate" emphasizes the role of modern technologies in construction and services to enhance the real estate supply.

Monday 08 June 2026
momah

A number of specialists participating in the third session of the first edition of the "Future of Real Estate Forum," held in Riyadh with the participation of more than 100 speakers from the public and private sectors, stressed the importance of using modern building technologies and smart solutions to facilitate an increase in the supply of tourist, residential and commercial real estate in the Kingdom through partnership between the public and private sectors, noting that activating artificial intelligence will contribute significantly to achieving the objectives of the "Quality of Life" program - one of the programs of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

David Grover, CEO of Roshan Real Estate Group, explained during his participation in the "Smart Cities and Sustainability" session at the forum held under the patronage and in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, that the challenges of the housing sector in Saudi Arabia are not limited to the vastness of the cities, governorates and projects implemented in them, but extend beyond that to the interest in providing integrated serviced housing units through the use of sustainable energy technologies with regard to lighting, infrastructure and cars used in light of global trends to reduce fuel consumption.

The CEO of Roshen pointed out that electronic platforms have a major role in facilitating ownership and acquisition through viewing units and electronic booking, in addition to developing residential communities that meet the requirements of modern housing and creating remote control systems for services within the units, stressing that attracting the best technologies used globally will provide a good profit margin for investors.

Talal Kensara, Head of Strategic Management at the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, pointed out that the development of historic cities and neighborhoods contributes to achieving the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, ensuring quality of life and interaction among residents. He noted that the development of historic neighborhoods begins with city planning and determining building heights and density.

Kensara touched on the standards of smart cities and the trend towards developing historic residential neighborhoods that tell the story of the country’s past and heritage by creating a strong infrastructure in partnership with the private sector, as well as relying on walking within cities away from the use of cars.

He stressed during his speech at the Future of Real Estate Forum that smart city applications are not enough to preserve the heritage identity of cities, but what is most important is the availability of infrastructure to preserve heritage buildings for future generations by taking advantage of global experiences and new legislation and regulations through effective partnership between the private sector and government agencies to improve the quality of services provided in cities.

Meanwhile, Curtin Hospitality CEO Marlos Nienbenberg explained that there are several definitions of smart cities, which include smart residential complexes with modern building technologies. She emphasized the need to integrate services and facilities within residential communities so that facilities are no more than 5 minutes away from citizens' residences, and to find solutions to reduce carbon emissions and produce environmentally friendly products that provide significant returns on investment.

Matthew Tribe, General Manager of Planning, Design and Engineering at Atkins, noted that the development of smart cities focuses on human nature and understanding current and future needs, stressing that applying sustainability solutions in cities and residential complexes is more important than the return on investment to ensure sustainable housing solutions for citizens, through collecting data to improve people’s lives within modern communities.

Najwa Hamza, Director of Smart Destinations at the Red Sea Development Company, stated that enhancing environmental requirements in the Red Sea Company’s projects began with a basic environmental study, and the company has reached 75% of the requirements to preserve the marine environment to be an environmental reserve using modern technology to change the traditional tourist experience within renewable energy, solar and wind energy solutions to provide water.

 

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia