RIYADH: With real estate the second largest contributing sector to Saudi Arabia"s gross domestic product, investors are flocking to Riyadh to attend the Real Estate Future Forum. On its first day, the forum hosted top officials and executives in the sector, led by Majid Al-Hogail, minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. The event will take place from 23-24 February. Top speakers for Wednesday included the governor of Asir region, Turki bin Talal; minister of human resources and social development, Ahmad Sulaiman Al Rajhi,; and Mohammed bin Abdullah Elkuwaiz. head of Saudi Capital Market Authority. The Knight Frank’s annual 2022 Saudi Residential survey, carried out in partnership with YouGov, found out that NEOM is the most preferred location to buy a home by the Kingdom’s homeowners, first-time buyers, and high net worth individuals. Here are the key takeaways from day one of the forum: Majid Al-Hogail, Housing Minister: Real estate is linked to the growth of more than 120 other economic sectors, housing minister told the forum. The real estate sector provided 40,000 job opportunities in 2021, increasing the private sector’s participation to more than SR385 billion ($103 billion). The sector witnessed a growth in land and property registration by 85 percent. Residential real estate financing is expected to exceed 1.2 million new contracts, with a value worth SR600 billion until 2030. Ahmad Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Human Resources Minister: Some 1,950,000 young Saudi men and women are working in the real estate and related sectors The government has decided to localize six activities from the real estate sector, and the goal is to finance 40 percent of the salaries of Saudis for a period of two years, with the maximum amount of SR2000. In 2021, 400,000 Saudis entered the labor market for the first time through the private sector. Saudi Arabia"s tourism sector is aiming to create one million jobs by 2030. Mohammed bin Abdullah Elkuwaiz, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority. Real estate investment trusts will offer more profit than stock market investments, he said. The CMA chairman revealed that REITs offer returns up to 5 percent, higher than stock market profits. He added that the pace of listing applications in 2022 will be higher than in 2021 due to the increase in corporate governance. Nawfal Al-Khudhairy, CEO of Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Co.: Speaking to Arab News, Nawfal Al-Khudhairy outlined plans for Dar Al-Arkan to expand into China and the UK. “We are one the largest, if not the largest, real estate development companies in Saudi Arabia...so it’s a key for us to be part of the forum to share our our wealth of knowledge of real estate with the public and our partners,” Al-Khudhairy stated. Ihsan Bafakih, Governor of the State Properties General Authority: The authority is building a real estate inventory for the state The authority succeed to transfer two districts in Jeddah to the state, working on other districts. Jeddah is seeing a big number of demolished districts now and the ownership of all these areas will be transferred to the state Thabet Al-Sawyeed, Secretary General of the Saudi Contractors Authority: According to studies, the volume of contracting in the Kingdom will reach SR275 billion by 2024, with an annual growth rate ranging from 4 percent to 4.5 percent annually. The volume of private projects in real estate development is considered one of the largest and highest growth projects, especially in the past years and based on the determinants of Vision 2030. Osama Al-Zamil, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources: Saudi Arabia is self-dependent in cement production and has sufficient resources for the next 10 years. The Kingdom has 17 cement factories distributed across all regions of the nation, which will serve future needs. Saudi Arabia has 12 factories to produce ceramics and porcelain with a production capacity of 150 million square meters. David Grover, chief executive of building group ROSHN: The company is aiming to install EV charging stations in their residential properties, as more people are opting for hybrid cars. The limited supply of sustainable materials and the high demand for them from other gigaprojects, are slowing down ROSHN"s constructions in Saudi Arabia.