Riyadh, May 09, 2021, SPA -- His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, has directed to allocate new residential lands at an area of 20 million square meters north of Riyadh in addition to the transfer of their ownership to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, as part of His Royal Highness’s keenness in the housing sector, which aims to enhance the stability of families and increase the percentage of homeownership. This allocation aims to increase the residential area of Al-Jawan suburb from 10 million square meters to 30 million square meters as well as to build additional fully served housing units up to 53,000 units in partnership with the private sector, in order to be added to the previously announced 20,000 housing units. The generous directive reflects HRH Crown Prince’s continued support to the housing sector, reaching a significant increase in the percentage of Saudi families' ownership of their first home from 47% to 60% within four years. The proper planning and various solutions in the sector in addition to the supporting the real estate supply and enacting regulations and legislation have contributed to achieving this goal by the end of 2020, in implementation of HRH Crown Prince's directives and the objectives of the housing program, which is one of the Kingdom Vision 2030 programs, to reach 70% by 2030. The additional lands allocated to the housing sector north of Riyadh will provide more than 53,000 various housing units that real estate developers will work on, taking into account the quality of services that meet the aspirations of citizens. This gesture comes in line with the development plans of Riyadh City in the economic, social, cultural and constructional fields in order to advance the services and facilities related to the citizen's life. This step is expected to enable more Saudi families to own homes and to generate more investment opportunities in order to enhance the private sector's participation, in line with the growth of Riyadh and its objective to become one of the 10 largest economic cities in the world and increase its population to 15-20 million by 2030. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Majed Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, expressed his appreciation to the wise leadership's interest in the housing sector via harnessing all efforts to raise the percentage of the citizens' ownership of first home, adding that the positive outcomes in the housing sector are attributed to the diligent follow-up and directives of HRH Crown Prince, who is the main supporter of the housing sector's development. Al-Hogail highlighted that the housing sector contributes more than SR115 billion to the GDP and creates about 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, adding that Riyadh represents nearly 50% of the non-oil economy in the Kingdom. He disclosed that the cost of developing the infrastructure and real estate in Riyadh is less than other cities by %29, which would accelerate the injection of development projects in its various sectors and fields, including the housing sector, which is one of the most important sectors for the economy and attracts the investors. --SPA 23:35 LOCAL TIME 20:35 GMT 0034 www.spa.gov.sa/w1556075