RIYADH: The National Housing Company signed nine agreements totalling SR2 billion ($533 million) with a number of national strategic partners on the sidelines of the Distinguished Cities Projects Exhibition in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The agreements with national partners aim to provide project management services, engineering supervision, design work implementation, housing unit construction, and evaluation services. Furthermore, the agreements make it easier to manage the printing environment and control consumption, as well as ensure the quality of infrastructure, improve operational sustainability and develop projects. Earlier this month, the National Housing Company signed an agreement to finance and develop a portfolio of projects worth more than SR40 billion ($10 billion), which will result in the construction of more than 150,000 housing units in 11 cities across Saudi Arabia. The company, founded in 2016, is the investment arm of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing’s initiatives and programs in the real estate, residential, and commercial sectors. It aims to increase real estate supply with a variety of housing options, in line with Vision 2030’s objective of increasing Saudi family residential ownership to 70 percent.