The Minister of Municipalities and Housing affirms at the United Nations the Kingdom's progress in urban development and reviews the indicators of the National Transformation Program.

Monday 28 September 2026

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His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has established an advanced model in sustainable urban development, and has moved from the stage of planning and policy formulation to the stage of implementation and impact achievement, based on the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which has made quality of life, housing, municipal development, and sustainability key pillars of national transformation.

This came during the Kingdom’s speech delivered by His Excellency at the high-level General Assembly meeting on the urban agenda, in New York City.

His Excellency explained that the Kingdom submitted its updated national report for 2026 to the United Nations Habitat program, which documents the urban transformation that the Kingdom has witnessed during the past years, and highlights the transition from the stage of building frameworks and policies to expanding the scope of implementation and achieving tangible results on the ground.

His Excellency reviewed the most prominent indicators achieved by the Kingdom, indicating that the percentage of Saudi families owning homes increased from 47% in 2016 to 66.24% by the end of 2025, approaching the 2030 target of 70%, while more than 25% of Saudi families benefited from housing support services within housing programs during the period between 2018 and 2025.

He pointed out that urban development has witnessed rapid progress, as the per capita share of public spaces has increased from 5.2 square meters to 6.9 square meters, while the Bahja program added more than 12 million square meters of community spaces, while the Riyadh Metro recorded more than 100 million passengers during its first nine months of operation, and the number of bus users within cities exceeded 96.8 million passengers during 2025, reflecting the development of the urban mobility system and the improvement of the quality of life.

His Excellency affirmed that the urban transformation in the Kingdom has extended to social aspects, as the percentage of women’s participation in the labor market has increased from 22.8% to 36%, and the percentage of employment of people with disabilities has doubled, while the number of non-profit sector organizations has exceeded 7,213 organizations, achieving growth of more than 341%, indicating the expansion of community participation in the development process.

He explained that the Kingdom continues to develop the urban governance system by enhancing the financial independence of municipalities, integrating urban data, and incorporating climate risk assessment into urban planning, in addition to continuing to implement the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Renewable Energy Program, which enhances the sustainability of cities and their ability to face future challenges.

His Excellency pointed out that partnerships and investments formed a key pillar of this transformation, as the Kingdom concluded more than 56 partnership agreements with the private sector to support infrastructure projects and municipal services, in addition to signing a strategic cooperation agreement with the United Nations Habitat Programme and the United Nations Development Programme for the period 2024-2027. The Kingdom also issued green bonds and sustainable sukuk worth $9.1 billion during 2024, in addition to the green financing framework of the Public Investment Fund, whose commitments exceed $10 billion by 2026.

In closing, His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing affirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to continuing to support the goals of the New Urban Agenda, enhancing international cooperation, and expanding access to sustainable financing, thereby contributing to building more inclusive and sustainable cities and enhancing the quality of life for future generations.

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia