The Minister of Municipalities and Housing inaugurates the 3rd International Conference and Exhibition on Facilities Management 2026

His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, today inaugurated the proceedings of the Third International Conference and Exhibition for Facilities Management 2026, which is being held under the slogan "Smart Facilities... Smart Cities", with the participation of a select group of specialists, experts, governmental and private entities, and those interested in the facilities management sector.

In his opening remarks, His Excellency emphasized that the facilities management market in the Kingdom exceeds $50 billion, noting that the size of the market reflects the opportunities available to maximize asset value, raise the efficiency of cities, and develop a national sector capable of competing globally.

He explained that the conference is being held at a time when Saudi cities are expanding and their assets and services are growing, coinciding with major national and international events, most notably Expo Riyadh 2030 and the 2034 World Cup, which reinforces the need to develop methods for managing assets and facilities and raising their efficiency.

His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing pointed out that facilities management has become an influential element in the ability of cities to preserve their resources, improve their services and make timely decisions, stressing the importance of moving from operating the facility to managing the asset’s value throughout its life cycle, and from dealing with breakdowns after they occur to predicting the need before they occur.

He explained that data, artificial intelligence, and digital twins provide practical tools to improve asset management efficiency by reading its performance, predicting its needs, and supporting decision-making, which contributes to providing more reliable services, improving asset efficiency, and enhancing resource utilization efficiency.

His Excellency pointed out that the Ministry focuses in this field on two main priorities; the first is asset management with data and results, by linking asset management to the stages of design, planning, operation, maintenance and improvement, and developing contracts that link the service provider to the results, and performance indicators that measure the actual value.

The second priority is to build a competitive Saudi market that creates solutions and skills, enabling national companies to grow, enhancing opportunities for innovation and investment in the private sector, and supporting the development of Saudi talent in the fields of engineering, technology, asset management, and data analysis.

His Excellency stressed that the role of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing is to develop a clear and stimulating regulatory environment, and to promote partnerships that contribute to raising the level of practice and expanding its impact, noting that developing the facilities management sector is a shared responsibility between government agencies, the private sector, universities, knowledge centers and experts.

He said that the third International Facilities Management Conference and Exhibition 2026 aims to move from exchanging ideas to partnerships, projects and scalable solutions, which will enhance the development of the sector and raise its readiness for the next stage.

His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing concluded his speech by emphasizing that smart cities are built on their ability to transform data into a decision, the decision into a service, and the service into a value that people feel, indicating that the future of facilities management in the Kingdom is based on technology as a tool, data as a foundation, investment as a driver, efficiency as a standard, and people as the goal.

The conference, organized by the Saudi Facilities Management Association, saw the participation of more than 200 governmental and private entities in its 2026 edition, along with an international presence of experts, specialists and university professors, discussing the future of the facilities management sector, and reviewing the most prominent experiences, practices, solutions and modern technologies in this field.