Minister of Municipalities and Housing delivers the Kingdom's speech during the meeting in New York

Friday/Saturday 17 July 2026

«Al-Jazirah» - SPA:

Minister of Municipalities and Housing Eng. 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 impact achievement, based on the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, which made quality of life, housing, municipal development, and sustainability key pillars of national transformation.

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

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

The Minister reviewed the most prominent indicators achieved by the Kingdom, indicating that the rate of Saudi home ownership increased 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 between 2018 and 2025.

He pointed out that urban development has 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 in its first nine months of operation, and the number of urban bus users exceeded 96.8 million passengers in 2025, reflecting the development of the urban mobility system and improved quality of life.

Al-Hogail affirmed that urban transformation in the Kingdom extended to social aspects, as the rate of women's participation in the labor market rose from 22.8% to 36%, and the employment rate of persons with disabilities doubled, while the number of non-profit sector organizations exceeded 7,213 organizations, achieving growth of over 341%, indicating the expansion of community participation in the development march. He explained that the Kingdom continues to develop the urban governance system by enhancing the financial independence of municipalities, integrating urban data, incorporating climate risk assessment into urban planning, in addition to continuing the implementation of the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Renewable Energy Program, enhancing the sustainability of cities and their ability to face future challenges. The Minister pointed out that partnerships and investments formed a key pillar of this transformation, as the Kingdom concluded more than 56 partnership agreements with the private sector to support infrastructure and municipal services projects, in addition to signing a strategic cooperation agreement with the UN-Habitat Programme and the United Nations Development Programme for the period 2024-2027. The Kingdom also issued green bonds and sustainable sukuk worth $9.1 billion in 2024, in addition to the green finance framework of the Public Investment Fund, whose commitments exceed $10 billion by 2026. At the conclusion of his speech, the Minister of Municipalities and Housing affirmed the Kingdom's commitment to continuing to support the goals of the New Urban Agenda, enhancing international cooperation, and expanding access to sustainable finance, contributing to building more inclusive and sustainable cities and improving the quality of life for future generations.