Saudi Arabia has qualified nearly 1,000 local and foreign developers within a drive launched over the past few years to build houses for its citizens, an official has said.

The government has so far awarded more than 360 permits which have resulted in the construction of at least 200,000 houses across the Gulf kingdom, said Abdullah Al-Hammad, CEO of the Real Estate General Authority.

Hammad, quoted by the Saudi daily Al-Madina, said the aim of the housing projects in the country is to give all citizens access to affordable housing. 

“These projects have made remarkable progress in achieving that target...they have increased Saudi ownership of houses from 47 percent to 64 percent at the end of 2024,” he said.

Hammad noted that the real estate sector contributed 14 percent to GDP in 2024 and provided more than 500,000 jobs in nearly 318,000 construction and real estate companies.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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