The Ministry of Municipality and Housing identified 309,000 non-compliant establishments and closed 33,000 of them, intensifying health monitoring and conducting more than 2.1 million inspection visits during 2021.

Monday 08 June 2026
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The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing announced the implementation of 2,174,023 inspection visits during the past year 2021 in all regions, governorates and cities of the Kingdom, as part of the efforts of the secretariats and municipalities to monitor markets and commercial establishments related to public health, despite the circumstances of the Corona pandemic and within the precautionary measures announced by the health authorities to limit its spread, and out of concern for the health of consumers and to ensure the safety of services and products and their compliance with health regulations and requirements and to reduce the occurrence of health harm to consumers.

The ministry explained that the total number of scheduled inspection visits carried out by 2,153 health inspectors during the past year amounted to 2,062,448 inspection visits, recording an increase of more than 23% compared to 2020, while the number of inspection visits due to complaints amounted to 111,575 visits during the past year.

According to the ministry’s annual report, field inspection visits reached approximately 1,450,000 commercial establishments employing 1,889,547 workers. 309,213 establishments were found to be in violation, and 33,034 were closed as a result of these inspections. The measures taken against these violating establishments included issuing warnings to 540,283 establishments and imposing fines on 286,288 establishments.

The ministry indicated that the number of health certificates granted to shops was 954,629 health certificates, while the number of public health shops that were granted licenses was 923,112 shops during the year 2021.

The Jeddah Governorate Municipality recorded the highest number of inspection tours during the past year, with 334,258 tours, followed by the Riyadh Region Municipality with 214,163 inspection tours, then the Qassim Region Municipality with 201,921 inspection tours, then the Asir Region Municipality with 169,227 inspection tours, and then the Holy Capital Municipality with 135,813 inspection tours.

The ministry stressed its commitment to tightening health control over all establishments related to public health, to ensure that food production and distribution factories and workshops, and their outlets, meet health requirements in the building, preparation and processing areas, warehouses, water supply, equipment, general cleanliness, and the cleanliness, appearance, and personal conduct of their employees, and that they have health certificates indicating that they are free from communicable and infectious diseases.

The tours include verifying the controls for the production and handling of all forms of food products in shops and factories, and meeting all quality and manufacturing requirements, with a focus on the raw materials from which they are made and their conformity to the prescribed specifications, continuous monitoring of factories and retail outlets, and ensuring that all materials and products are safe and healthy. Suspected samples are examined through the latest technical equipment available to the inspector and through the ministry's laboratories spread throughout the Kingdom, with verification of the facilities in shops and cafes and the requirements, and ensuring the application of regulations related to commercial activity, and verifying the sources of water used in all shops and the cleanliness of the areas surrounding food establishments and the roads leading to them and their freedom from waste.

The Ministry noted that the municipalities and secretariats in all regions of the Kingdom continued during 2021 to monitor the implementation of precautionary measures to prevent the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the targeted sectors and activities, in coordination and integration with relevant government agencies and sectors, to achieve common health goals. It confirmed that the municipal sector recorded a reassuring compliance rate in response to the intensive monitoring efforts of the regional secretariats and sub-municipalities on markets, commercial establishments, wedding and event halls and rest areas, as the number of violating shops decreased from 345,711 shops during 2020 to 309,213 violating shops, a decrease of 11%. The number of closed shops also decreased from 66,386 shops in 2020 to 33,034 shops last year 2021, a decrease of 50% compared to 2020.

It is noted that the Ministry recently launched the first and second phases of the "Compliant" campaign in a number of regions of the Kingdom to raise awareness of the importance of adhering to health measures and precautionary procedures against the Coronavirus. It also aims to involve the community in the process of raising awareness of the epidemic risks, and to contribute to the process of self-monitoring at the individual and collective levels.

The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing urges everyone to promptly report any observation or violation of health and municipal requirements in stores by calling 940, alerting owners, investors and workers in activities targeted by the municipal sector to the importance of cooperation and compliance to preserve the health and safety of beneficiaries, which is a priority, in the belief that applying precautions is a necessity and a legal and national duty that everyone works to achieve.

 

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia