RIYADH INTERNATIONAL URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT EVENT WOWS PUBLIC AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Riyadh, December 2011: On its last day the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event, which is under the patronage HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, has established itself as the largest real estate event in Riyadh.
The fully booked exhibition hosts exhibitors from across the real estate sector who are displaying their latest projects to 7,000 potential stakeholders expected during the three days of the exhibition.
The event is officially supported by Arriyadh Development Authority and Riyadh Municipality and is organized for the second year running by the National Exhibitions Company and Informa Saudi Arabia.
The Q4 report by Colliers International on the Riyadh residential market dispatched during the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event expects the residential property sector in Riyadh to be characterized by on-going increases in the price for completed residential units as well as for vacant land. Data in the report suggest that that the demand for apartment units outweighs demand for single-family dwellings such as villa and duplex units with the absorption rate of the latter reaching 83 percent to 87 percent of the residential supply.
“These figures showcase the potential Riyadh holds in terms of development and similar estimates apply to Jeddah and Khobar. If we take Khobar for example the population grew by 3.3 percent and 4 percent respectively between 2004 and 2012,” said Hussain Al Harthi, Managing Director, National Exhibitions Company. “The large number of participants and visitors at the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event clearly indicates the high demand for affordable housing. Key to all developments in the kingdom is a holistic approach considering the needs of the people.”
Dr. Nazih Hussain Ahmed, CEO of Affordable House and Mr. Faisal Bin Saedan Managing Director at Saudi Asateer Precast Company signed an MoU at the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event yesterday. The expected volume of investment is SR 60 million. It is the first agreement of its kind between a developer and a pre-cast company in the Kingdom. This allows Affordable Housing to give a twenty year guarantee on the structure of it Miral Compound while the common norm on the market is ten years. Further, this new system will cut down on the development time, which will be reflected in the cost.
The implementation of soft and hard infrastructures will determine the success of the developments and economic cities in the kingdom. Hard infrastructure is focused on provision of basic utilities such as water, gas and electricity, waste, and transport provision, while soft infrastructure encompasses equitable, accessible and appropriate community services.
Participating in the session on the strategies and challenges of supplying a world-class infrastructure to realize the real estate growth goal in Riyadh, which took place during the second day of the Riyadh Real Estate Summit, Dr. Bassam Boodai Managing Director & CEO, Jenan Real Estate Company said:
“The Kingdom’s real estate sector is expanding dramatically and so is the need for a world class infrastructure. The provision of hard and soft infrastructures would reduce the cost for developers significantly. In addition, introducing a public transportation system and expanding the road system would increase connectivity among the cities and rural areas and the cities within. The record budget ordered by a royal decree earlier this year highlights the government’s determination to provide affordable housing and close the supply and demand gap in the real estate sector. In order to provide affordable housing comprehensive development away from the big cities in the country is required to escape the high land prices in the city. Therefore it is crucial to have a functioning and efficient infrastructure in place.”
The third and last day of the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event will host for the first time ever the World Architecture Congress in Saudi Arabia. The Congress is supported by the Royal Institute of British Architects and AIA Middle East (AIA ME), a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
“The World Architecture Congress is a renowned brand around the world and we have managed to bring it to the Kingdom for the very first time during this year’s Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event,” said Deep Marawaha, General Manager of Informa Saudi Arabia. “There are a lot of developments happening in Saudi Arabia and more and more students are studying architecture at universities. We saw a need for a congress that provides an exclusive gathering for the entire architectural community in the kingdom, providing an unsurpassed opportunity for industry leaders to meet and discuss the latest trends in architecture and learn about the latest government projects.”
One of the main highlights of the exhibition was the booth of Rayadah Investment Company King Abdullah Financial District. It will be the Middle East’s first financial district on a scale and of regulatory and technological standards to match the major global financial centers. Saudi Arabia’s financial district will be built close to the business centre of Riyadh. The site is 1.6 million square metres and the development will have floor space of over 3 million square metres. It will be a multi-year project during which Saudi Arabia – already the world’s oil capital – will consolidate its position as the Middle East’s financial capital. Many of the world’s major banks, financial institutions and professional service companies - already operating in Saudi Arabia – have indicated their intention to locate in the District in order to play a major part in the diversification of the world’s major oil economy.
Ahmed Al-Hatti, President and Chairman of the Board at Cayan said: “Cayan always participates in important real estate exhibitions. As the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event is one of the most important exhibitions in the Kingdom it represents a great opportunity for us to showcase our projects. This year we are revealing many of our projects for the first time and we trust that they contribute to the exhibition’s wide variety of displays. Cayan has achieved tangible results in the past years and up to now we have delivered more than 2,000 residential units. It is part of our tradition to provide the market with these types of special projects and we are fully committed to maintaining this level of excellence in our future projects. We will definitely work hard to achieve many successes together with Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event.”
The new venue, the Riyadh Exhibition Center (King Fahad Road, opposite of Saudi Airlines Office), provides an expansive 9,000 square meters of display space for exhibitors and sponsors such as Arriyadh Development Authority and Riyadh Municipality (Official Supporters), Ewaan Global Residential Company (Founding Sponsor), Affordable House Company (Principal Sponsor), Jenan Real Estate (Premier Sponsor), Dar Al Tamleek (Silver Sponsor), as well as WorkingBuildings Companies (Conference Sustainability Sponsor).
Event details are available at www.CityscapeRiyadh.com.