RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is seeking to have three of its cities ranked among the top 100 in the world for quality of life, according to the Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing. Speaking at the National Transformation Forum in Riyadh, Majed Al-Hogail noted that the Kingdom is now among the top 17 economies globally, and it will soon become one of the top 15. He called for an integrated structure in cities of Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom plans to welcome over 100 million visitors annually, as a part of its National Tourism Strategy. To materialize these goals, the Housing Ministry is focusing on preparing an atmosphere to receive investments and investors, humanizing cities, along with raising the quality of life within the national transformation program. Al-Hogail further noted that the private sector has a crucial role to play in achieving these goals. He added that the ministry is also aiming to provide a suitable environment for housing in Saudi Arabian cities and facilitate access to high-quality services, alongside developing infrastructure. To accelerate the housing programs in Saudi Arabia, Al-Hogail launched the National Housing Co.’s new online platform in January for the purchase of building materials. According to a Saudi Press Agency report, this platform is designed to connect contractors and real estate developers with suppliers of building materials approved by the NHC. The report further noted that the platform will give access to a variety of building materials at a reduced price, which will increase efficiency in production while lowering the cost of housing units and increasing home ownership in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Development Fund recently announced that it deposited SR924 million ($246 million) in the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries for the month of February. This deposit comes in line with the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 strategy that aims to provide adequate and affordable housing opportunities for Saudi families. Mansour bin Madi, CEO of REDF said that the deposit of SR924 million is allocated to support the contracts of the various housing programs.