The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing launches the process of updating and harmonizing municipal supervisory scopes.

Monday 08 June 2026
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The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing launched the work of updating and harmonizing municipal supervisory scopes, within a workshop held in Riyadh, which represents the launch of one of the paths for developing the municipal system aimed at raising the efficiency of municipal work and enhancing development coordination.

The Ministry, in cooperation with the United Nations Habitat Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, is working to employ international expertise in this field, within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the Ministry and the United Nations concluded on the sidelines of the Cityscape real estate exhibition in September 2023.

The workshop witnessed the participation of more than sixty representatives from secretariats and municipalities, along with a number of international experts. The participants discussed the challenges related to supervisory scopes and came up with practical paths to address them. The experience of the Baha region secretariat, which completed the process of updating and harmonizing supervisory scopes, was also reviewed. The secretariat presented its experience in promoting harmonization and improving performance, which allowed the participants to see a successful model that could be expanded and applied in other regions.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry for Urban Planning and Lands, Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Ghamlas, affirmed that through this initiative, the Ministry is working to enhance the efficiency and structure of the municipal system and address current challenges, in a way that contributes to achieving more efficient urban planning, effective management of services and infrastructure, and expanding access to municipal services.

For her part, the representative in the Kingdom for the Habitat program, Taina Christiansen, explained that clear and precise municipal supervisory scopes, consistency of powers, and fair coverage of services are essential elements of effective and people-oriented urban management, as they contribute to ensuring fair access to services, efficient land use, and targeted investment in housing, infrastructure, and the public domain.

For her part, the Deputy Resident Representative of the Development Programme, Margaret Jones Williams, affirmed that strengthening the structure and classification of the municipal system will enable the improvement of local planning and urban management, and enhance institutional capacities and governance frameworks, thus ensuring the sustainability of this transformation.

This initiative is part of a three-year joint cooperation program between the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), which includes six initiatives aimed at strengthening spatial planning governance, empowering municipalities, building capacity, and supporting innovation in urban development. This partnership embodies the Kingdom's commitment to continuing to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and enhancing cooperation with international expertise, contributing to sustainable, inclusive, and effective urban development.

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia