A global alliance for a train project linking eastern and western Saudi Arabia

At a time when Majid Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, announced the adoption of the Municipal Investment Portal (Foras), to be a unified national portal for offering real estate investment opportunities to Saudi government agencies, Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, revealed the existence of an international alliance Led by a Chinese company and 11 other international companies to complete the designs and track for the land bridge project – the train – that connects the east and west of the country.
Minister Al-Jasser indicated that there are 22 investment opportunities, the most prominent of which is the preparation of 4 regional airports to be offered to the private sector.
He said during the Municipal Investment Forum (Foras) in its second edition, yesterday, in Riyadh, in the presence of a number of ministers and officials, that there is partnership and cooperation with the municipal and housing system, and the national strategy for transportation and logistics includes investments exceeding 600 billion riyals ($160 billion).

Investor Journey
Returning to Minister Al-Hogail, he said that the ministry worked to fully automate the procedures and the investor’s journey, starting from presenting the opportunity to purchasing the brochure and submitting bids, passing through the formation of the committees held to awarding the opportunity, signing the contract and handing over the site through a unified platform, indicating that a disposal regulation was issued municipal real estate to be the regulatory framework, and also allow the temporary rental of real estate; The investor can rent public parks or squares to hold events or events for a period of up to 3 months.
Al-Hogail stressed that municipal investments are related to 5 programs of the vision, which are privatization, housing, quality of life, serving the guests of Rahman, and financial sustainability.
And he stated that municipal investments improve the investment system in 3 main axes: legislative to raise investment maturity, develop supportive products, and a procedural and marketing axis, explaining that municipal investments contribute to achieving the goals of “Vision 2030” by improving the quality of city services, improving the urban landscape, and developing and diversifying opportunities. It also allows state-owned assets for the private sector, developing the activities of other sectors, and increasing the contributions of small and medium enterprises.

investment strategy
For his part, Eng. Khaled Al-Falih, Minister of Investment, estimated the distribution of investment opportunities according to the National Investment Strategy, which was estimated at 12.4 trillion riyals ($3.3 trillion), explaining that 20 percent of it goes to the real estate sector at a value of 2.5 trillion riyals ($666 billion). And 14 percent for transportation and logistics services, at a value of 1.7 trillion riyals ($453 billion), then tourism, 9 percent, with a value of 1.1 trillion riyals ($293 billion).
And he indicated that the system for foreign ownership of real estate is in its final stages, and after its approval, international companies and individuals will open more investments in Saudi Arabia.

advanced industries
For his part, Bandar Al-Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said that the national strategy for industry enables Saudi Arabia to embrace advanced industries with high economic value, revealing aspirations to increase the number of factories from 12 to 36 thousand in the next stage.
Al-Khareef added that there is a demand from investors to enter the military sectors, and work is underway to enable them to obtain private industrial cities.
The Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing is working on developing a number of products continuously with the secretariats and municipalities, the most prominent of which is “working with government funding funds, and partnership with the private sector.” The ministry is also working to allocate 70 percent of services by 2030.

Bilateral agreements
On the sidelines of the ceremony, Al-Hogail witnessed the signing of 3 agreements: the first is the executive program agreement for bilateral cooperation between the ministry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of South Korea, and the second is the controls for linking the investment portal in Saudi cities (Foras) and “Invest in Saudi Arabia” with the Ministry of Investment, and the third Use the investment portal in Saudi cities for the opportunities offered by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.
The forum includes offering more than 5,000 investment opportunities, suitable for all segments of investors, including entrepreneurs, owners of small and medium enterprises, and large investors in various economic activities in all Saudi cities.
On the other hand, the State of Qatar, as the “guest country” at the forum, presented its successful experience in organizing the World Cup, the role of the private sector and investment opportunities in developing cities, infrastructure and the quality of life of the population.
The forum aims to raise the attractiveness of investment in Saudi cities, stimulate local investments and attract foreign investments that will reflect on raising the private sector’s contribution to the development of cities and the development of domestic product, and contribute to enabling sectoral and regional strategies, and introduce municipal investment mechanisms.