MOMRAH to sign MOU with Saudi Downtown to develop several projects in the Kingdom’s cities

The Ministry of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing along with Saudi company Downtown, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop planning and design standards for the company's projects in 12 Saudi cities. The signing took place during the second day of the Cityscape Global Exhibition, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh from September 10th to 13th, 2023, in the presence of His Excellency Deputy Minister of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing, Mr. Ihab bin Ghazi Al-Hashani.

The MOU was signed by the Deputy Minister for Urban Planning and Lands Engineer Fahad bin Saleh Al-Mutlaq on behalf of MOMRAH, and the member of the Board of Directors and Acting CEO of Saudi Downtown, Mr. Naif bin Saleh Al-Hamdan.

The MOU aims to collaborate in developing planning requirements, general blueprint guidelines, and detailed plans for Saudi Downtown’s projects. It also aims to enhance planning requirements and design standards for urban landscape elements, including parks, public squares, parking lots, and all aspects related to urban quality of life in accordance with laws and instructions.

Under the MoU, MOMRAH will collaborate with the company to develop a working model for Saudi Downtown’s projects as a pilot project to apply national and regional urban and architectural design standards. It will also develop a mechanism for approving detailed plans and buildings, including the integration of local identities into the company's projects.

Saudi Downtown will work on developing and establishing sustainable urban destinations and centers in 12 cities in the Kingdom, including Madinah, Al-Ahsa, Al-Khobar, Buraidah, Taif, Arar, Hail, Tabuk, Dumah Al-Jandal, Jizan, Najran, and Al-Baha. The company aims to stimulate economic activity, improve the quality of life in those cities, and create more options and new opportunities in various sectors, including shopping, entertainment, hospitality, tourism, office spaces, housing and others.

During the Cityscape Global Exhibition, several cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed in municipal and housing sectors with various government, private, and non-profit entities. These agreements are part of the MOMRAH’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with relevant entities, aiming to enhance the sustainability of cities, improve the urban landscape and spatial planning, develop the real estate sector in the Kingdom, and increase the supply of housing products in the Saudi market.

It is worth mentioning that the Cityscape Global Exhibition is the world's largest event for showcasing developments in the real estate sector, discussing its challenges, and presenting the largest and latest projects. The current edition includes the NEOM Future of Living Summit, the Property Portfolio Forum, the Design and Architecture Stage, The Real Estate Institutional Investor Forum (RIIF), the PropTech Stage and the Innovation Challenge that allows startups to present their ideas to create a more innovative future. Additionally, there is the Cityscape Global ROSHN Hackathon, which creates competition among participants to find innovative solutions in the sector.