Saudi-Spanish cooperation is expected to expand in the areas of engineering technology, renewable energy, and urban infrastructure development after a high-level discussion in Madrid.
Majed Al-Hogail, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing, met with executives from prestigious Spanish enterprises during the course of a three-day tour from April 15–17 to discuss potential collaborations. According to the sources, the tour is a component of the Kingdom’s larger effort to develop foreign alliances that strengthen its infrastructure and urban capacities. One of Al-Hogail’s interactions was a conversation on possible cooperation in the areas of energy efficiency, sustainable urban development, and infrastructure solutions with Pablo Bueno, CEO of TYPSA.
In addition to developing new asset management systems and engineering value solutions, the Minister and CEO of TYPSA discussed bringing the circular economy to life in infrastructure and buildings. The minister also had a meeting with Jose Vicente, the CEO of Indra, a top engineering, technology, and consulting company, to talk about digital transformation in municipal services. This partnership seeks to promote innovation and raise the standard of services offered to Saudi residents and citizens.
Al-Hogail also met with Pedro Fernandez Alen, the National Construction Confederation’s president, to talk about potential joint ventures and exchange ideas regarding Vision 2030’s strategic goals related to the housing industry. The main topic of discussion was Spain’s large investments in Saudi Arabia, which sum up to $3 billion and are mostly related to real estate projects.
The minister emphasized the strong expansion of the housing market in Saudi Arabia, pointing out that during the previous five years, 1.5 million families had received housing solutions. He highlights the opening of significant residential developments and the delivery of about 500,000 housing units. These initiatives, which seek to create more than 300,000 housing units by 2025 and over one million units by 2030, are expected to increase the Kingdom’s appeal to both domestic and foreign investors.
Al-Hogail also highlighted the building and construction sector’s 11.3 percent contribution by the third quarter of 2023 and the real estate sector’s noteworthy 12.2 percent contribution to the Kingdom’s non-oil gross domestic product. On a final note, Al-Hogail will govern over the Saudi-Spanish Business Forum, which is organized by the Saudi-Spanish Business Council and the Council of Saudi Chambers.
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