Al-Hogail discusses with the CEO of a number of Spanish companies opportunities for cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and construction

His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, met today in the Spanish capital Madrid with a number of CEOs of major Spanish companies to discuss opportunities for cooperation in the fields of urban development, construction, renewable energy, and engineering technology. This meeting took place on the second day of his official visit to the Kingdom of Spain, which lasts for three days from April 15th to 17th.

At the beginning of the tour, the Minister met with Mr. Pablo Bueno, the CEO of TYPSA, to discuss opportunities for cooperation in the areas of infrastructure solutions, buildings, renewable energy, environment and cities. They reviewed the opportunities to activate the circular economy approach in buildings and infrastructure, establish asset management platforms, and develop new value engineering solutions.

He also met with Mr. José Vicente, the CEO of Indra, a global leader in engineering technology and consulting. The meeting discussed opportunities for cooperation in the digital transformation of municipal affairs and enhancing innovation to improve the quality of services provided to beneficiaries. They also highlighted the investment opportunities offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in various municipal, housing, and urban infrastructure sectors.

Furthermore, he met with Mr. Pedro Fernandez Allen, president of the National Union of Building and Construction, to discuss joint cooperation, exchange of experiences, and present the key directions of Vision 2030 for the housing sector and investment opportunities in the housing sector in the Kingdom. He pointed out that Spanish investments in the Kingdom exceeded $3 billion, 40% of which were in the real estate sector.

Al-Hogail emphasized that the Kingdom is witnessing a boom in the housing and real estate activities sector, as it has been able to provide housing solutions benefiting 1.5 million families over the past five years. It has also introduced around half a million housing units and launched several major residential suburbs. He affirmed that the Kingdom is working to continue enhancing the supply of residential real estate by establishing more than 300,000 housing units until 2025 and reaching nearly one million housing units by 2030.

He also commended the renaissance witnessed by the real estate activities sector in the Kingdom, which has contributed to raising its attractiveness to local and international investments and unprecedented growth. The sector's contribution to the non-oil GDP reached 12.2%, while the contribution of the construction and building sector reached 11.3% by the third quarter of 2023. Additionally, the sector is linked to more than 120 economic industries.

It is worth mentioning that His Excellency the Minister of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing will inaugurate the Saudi-Spanish Business Forum, organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, represented by the Saudi-Spanish Business Council. The forum will be attended by more than 100 companies from both sides, focusing on cooperation in the fields of construction technologies, smart cities and urban planning.