Saudi-Chinese Partnership to Build 100,000 Housing Units Under Vision 2030

In a historic step reflecting the depth of the strategic partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People’s Republic of China, a series of agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed to implement major housing projects, paving the way to achieve the ambitious goal of constructing 100,000 housing units by 2030.

Project Background: In Line with Vision 2030 and the Housing Program

This strategic cooperation aligns with the Housing Program—one of Vision 2030’s key initiatives—which aims to raise the percentage of Saudi families owning homes from 47% to 70% by 2030. The Ministry of Housing and the National Housing Company (NHC) are working to provide more than 600,000 housing units to meet the growing demand, explaining the need for large-scale international partnerships to achieve these ambitious targets.

Agreements Worth 8.7 Billion Riyals to Launch 20,000 Housing Units

At the forefront of these agreements was the signing of a framework agreement with the China State Construction Engineering Seventh Bureau—one of the world’s largest construction companies and a key state contractor in China—to implement 20,000 housing units with a total investment of 8.7 billion Saudi riyals.
The visit also resulted in the signing of two additional framework agreements to construct over 24,000 housing units, marking a significant leap in bilateral cooperation.

From Technical Cooperation to Actual Construction: Advancing to the Implementation Phase

His Excellency Minister Al-Hogail emphasized that these agreements embody an advanced implementation phase, moving the partnership from technical cooperation to actual on-ground construction.
He stressed that this step is crucial to achieving the objectives of the Housing Program within Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to raise the homeownership rate among Saudi families to 70%.

Strengthening Supply Chains and Localizing Industry: Supporting Local Content

These partnerships go beyond construction, encompassing strategic aspects that strengthen supply and procurement chains while promoting the localization of the building and construction industries within the Kingdom.
This is achieved through digital initiatives supported by the Supplier platform of the National Housing Company—a national platform specialized in managing supply chains for building materials—aiming to enhance local content and create distinctive industrial and investment opportunities.

International Partnerships and Innovative Financing to Accelerate Progress

The visit also included meetings with executives from leading global companies such as Power China (specializing in major infrastructure projects), MCC (China Metallurgical Group Corporation), and CMEC (China Machinery Engineering Corporation), to review ongoing projects and encourage participation in a strategic partnership program to construct an additional 20,000 housing units.
Discussions also covered innovative financing models (EPC+F) that link financing with implementation, accelerating construction progress while ensuring the highest quality standards in housing projects.

A Deep-Rooted Saudi-Chinese Cooperation Within the Belt and Road Framework

This collaboration stems from the memorandum of understanding signed between Saudi Arabia and China in 2019 for cooperation in the housing sector and aligns strategically with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Chinese companies possess extensive expertise in executing large-scale projects worldwide, while the Kingdom offers vast investment opportunities in its rapidly growing housing sector.

These major international partnerships reaffirm the Kingdom’s commitment to expanding avenues of global cooperation to accelerate comprehensive urban development and keep pace with the rapid growth of its cities, in line with the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030.