المملكة: With 5 billion riyals, “municipalities” are restructuring the urban landscape in Jeddah and organizing economic activities

The Minister concluded Municipalitiesand Housing Majed Al-Hogail visited Jeddah Governorate, which lasted two days, and included field tours and official and community meetings, as part of his direct follow-up of the secretariat’s performance and the level of services, and reviewing the progress of work in major development projects.

He began the visit with a tour of the city of metals and scrap, where he was briefed on the project, which represents an integrated model for organizing economic activities and transferring them to prepared sites outside the urban area, and the first phase has been fully operational. With an investment of 650 million riyals, it was allocated to develop the infrastructure, including the surrounding roads, internal streets and the power station, with 100% completion of leasing, in an indicator that reflects the feasibility of the project and its success in reorganizing activity according to modern standards that enhance efficiency and regulatory and environmental compliance.

He also inaugurated the start of implementing projects Municipal services for the first phase in Jeddah Governorate, which includes the construction city, the automobile city, the warehouse city, the missile market, and the truck shelter city, as part of the efforts to organize economic activities and develop integrated work environments that support growth and sustainability, on an area estimated at approximately 20 million square meters, and with an investment of approximately 5 billion riyals in partnership with the private sector.

At the conclusion of the first day, members of the Board of Directors of the Jeddah Development and Urban Development Company – the arm, met Investment of Jeddah Municipality – the CEO and partners, as the company invests in the management of 35 projects and contracts across 8 strategic sectors, with investments approaching 8 billion riyals, and supervises the development of assets exceeding an area of 31 million square meters, which contributes to maximizing the benefit of municipal assets and raising the efficiency of their management and sustainability. The digital transformation entities “Omran Tech” and “Amana Tech” were also activated to raise operating efficiency and enhance governance, in addition to implementing more than 38 thousand projects. A position within the model of partnership with the private sector, in support of regulating traffic movement and improving the urban landscape.

On the second day, the Minister of Municipalities and Housing met with His Excellency the Mayor of Jeddah, Mr. Saleh bin Ali Al Turki, and the leaders of the secretariat; He viewed the “City View” digital platform – one of the tools for decision support, project monitoring and performance measurement – and witnessed a presentation of the most prominent achievements of the secretariat and the completed and ongoing projects, which cost 6.4 billion riyals.

The visit included a tour of a number of projects, including the rainwater drainage project in the Taiba neighborhood, which costs 362 million riyals with a completion rate of 96%, in addition to the “Alma” destination project, which has an area exceeding 96%. 3 million square meters, and includes 7 areas and two water islands connected by bridges and a 12-kilometre-long waterfront, where His Excellency was briefed on the completion rates and components of the project and the integrated urban environment it provides that supports the quality of life and the diversity of residential and investment options.

The Minister of Municipalities and Housing stressed at the conclusion of the visit that Jeddah Governorate continues its progress towards balanced development based on the efficiency of services, maximizing the use of assets, and stimulating investment, pointing to the role of the sector The municipality aims to create a supportive environment for tourism in light of the diversity of seasons that the governorate embraces. In the summer through the Jeddah season, and in the winter through the Red Sea Film Festival, the Formula 1 race, the Formula E race, the E1 electric boat race, and the F1H2O speedboat race, in addition to entertainment events in the spring, which enhances Jeddah’s position as a tourist and economic destination throughout the year.

This visit comes within the framework of continuous field follow-up of urban development projects, strengthening the effective partnership with the private sector, and enabling the secretariats to perform their roles with high efficiency, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and enhances the competitiveness of Saudi cities and the quality of life in them.