Saudi Arabia Representative: We are already negotiating the price not for 1,000, but for 1 million homes

"We are already negotiating prices not for 1,000, but for 1 million homes."

As reported by APA, this was stated by Ali Al-Ahmed, Director General of Supply Chain at the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing of Saudi Arabia, during the session "New Deal for Housing Finance" held as part of WUF13.

"The discussions that took place in Baku over the past 3–4 days have shown that we all speak the same language. Housing policy starts with land, then encompasses infrastructure, projects, construction companies, beneficiaries, and services that enhance quality of life, forming a unified value chain," he noted.

Ali Al-Ahmed stated that Saudi Arabia classifies housing issues along supply and demand lines.

According to him, citizens with a monthly income of 4,000 riyals, or approximately 1,000 dollars, are considered eligible for subsidized housing programs: "The government, together with local banks, provides these individuals with subsidized loan packages."

The Saudi official noted that currently more than 13 banks in the country issue subsidized mortgage loans, and over the past five years the volume of these loans has grown from 400 billion riyals to approximately 1 trillion riyals.

He emphasized that the government either subsidizes loan interest rates or provides homebuyers with non-repayable support of 100,000–150,000 riyals.

Ali Al-Ahmed also stated that for citizens with no income, there is a separate "Development Housing" program, which currently serves more than 200,000 families: "109,000 of these homes were built directly by the ministry, while the rest were purchased from the private sector."

He added that to reduce housing costs, a centralized procurement platform called SupplyPro was established: "We are negotiating with manufacturers no longer for 1,000 homes, but for 1 million homes. The goal is to obtain the best price, ensure supply chain sustainability, and thereby reduce the final cost of housing."