He reviewed the indicators of national transformation..

Minister of Municipalities and Housing Affirms at UN the Kingdom's Progress in Urban Development

His Excellency Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has established an advanced model in sustainable urban development, moving from the stage of planning and policy formulation to the stage of implementation and achieving impact, based on the targets of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which made quality of life, housing, municipal development, and sustainability main axes of national transformation.

This came during the Kingdom's speech delivered by His Excellency at the high-level United Nations General Assembly meeting on the urban agenda in New York City.

His Excellency explained that the Kingdom submitted its updated national report for 2026 to the UN-Habitat program, which documents the urban transformation the Kingdom has witnessed in recent years and highlights the transition from building frameworks and policies to expanding implementation and achieving tangible results on the ground.

His Excellency reviewed the most prominent indicators achieved by the Kingdom, stating that the homeownership rate for Saudi families rose from 47% in 2016 to 66.24% by the end of 2025, approaching the 2030 target of 70%, while more than 25% of Saudi families benefited from housing support services within housing programs during the period between 2018 and 2025.

He pointed out that urban development witnessed rapid progress, as the per capita share of public spaces increased from 5.2 square meters to 6.9 square meters, while the 'Bahja' program added more than 12 million square meters of community spaces. Meanwhile, the Riyadh Metro recorded more than 100 million passengers during its first nine months of operation, and the number of urban bus users exceeded 96.8 million passengers during 2025, reflecting the development of the urban mobility system and improvement of quality of life.

His Excellency affirmed that the urban transformation in the Kingdom extended to social aspects, as women's participation in the labor market rose from 22.8% to 36%, the employment rate of persons with disabilities doubled, and the number of non-profit sector organizations exceeded 7,213, achieving growth of over 341%, indicating the expansion of community participation in the development process.

He explained that the Kingdom continues to develop the urban governance system by enhancing the financial independence of municipalities, integrating urban data, and incorporating climate risk assessment into urban planning, along with continuing implementation of the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Renewable Energy Program, which enhances the sustainability of cities and their ability to face future challenges.

His Excellency pointed out that partnerships and investments formed a key pillar of this transformation, as the Kingdom signed more than 56 partnership agreements with the private sector to support infrastructure and municipal services projects, alongside signing a strategic cooperation agreement with the UN-Habitat program and the United Nations Development Program for the period 2024–2027. The Kingdom also issued green bonds and sustainable sukuk worth $9.1 billion during 2024, in addition to the Green Finance Framework of the Public Investment Fund, whose commitments exceed $10 billion by 2026.

In conclusion of his speech, His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing affirmed the Kingdom's commitment to continuing support for the goals of the New Urban Agenda, enhancing international cooperation, and expanding access to sustainable finance, thereby contributing to building more inclusive and sustainable cities and improving the quality of life for future generations.