His Excellency, Minister of Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Hugail, honored Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company, the strategic sponsor of the Building Technology Conference, which was held on May 24th, 2017 in Rafal Kempinski Hotel in Riyadh. The conference brought together an elite group of specialists and those interested in this field.
In a speech delivered during the conference opening, Mr. Yousef bin Abdullah Al Shelash, Chairman of Dar Al Arkan Company, said:"The Kingdom today offers unprecedented opportunities in the construction, and housing sectors. The current estimates indicate the urgent need to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years to fill the gap in the housing sector. A large proportion of those homes should be constructed using modern construction techniques to ensure rapid and efficient capital recruitment. At the same time, the wise government expects most of these housing to be built through public-private partnerships”.
Al Shelash praised the efforts of the Ministry of Housing to address the housing problem through several tracks within the framework of its strategy to shift from the role of the developer to the role of the regulator, the catalyst, and the observer of the real estate market in general and housing in particular. He stressed that such transformation journey requires patience, determination, and cooperation. It must go through some pitfalls here and there that must be passed on to realize success and matured experience over the timeline. He expected that the shift in the Ministry's strategy from finding houses to empowering people to own their homes would be met with resistance from all market parties until they fully understand and adapt to the new approach and realize its benefits at the levels of individuals, the profitable enterprises, and the national economy in general.
Al Shelash stressed the need to shift from the traditional concrete construction method and address the tripartite of quality, cost and time, which are the three top elements required in dealing with the housing problem. He pointed out that it is possible to develop most of the required housing units in light of the huge demand for about 1.5 million homes over the next five years using the new building techniques, which can reduce the time and cost while raising quality. He explained that the construction sector is witnessing high-tech developments. Therefore, we all look forward to knowing more about the building methods based on modern technologies and the extent of its impact on the construction speed, quality, and costs. Al Shelash noted that the Conference is an opportunity for the developers to decide whether or not they will use such important and vital knowledge, as well as for the buyers regarding their motivation for purchasing residential units developed using the new techniques.
Dar Al Arkan has recently launched the "Naeem eljiwar" project southwest of Medina within the boundaries of the Prophet’s Mosque. The project provides ideal opportunities for customers who wish to live in Medina to own homes and take advantage of the investment opportunities that the project offers. The project comprises residential villas that are ready for handing over and investing immediately. The villas are featuring various designs and different built-up areas, and they enjoy guarantees on the structure, the electrical and mechanical works, as well as the finishing works. The project, also, offers residential land plots on prime locations and commercial land plots that are considered a great investment opportunity for those wishing to invest in Al-Madinah.
Established in 1994, Dar Al Arkan is the largest listed real estate company in the Saudi stock market with a capital of SAR 10.8 billion (The US $ 2.88 billion) and a total asset value close to SR 25 billion, and it is considered the leading real estate development company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.