Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majed Al-Hogail marked a significant moment in Riyadh today as he formally inaugurated Cityscape Global 2025, an international gathering that has rapidly become one of the largest real estate and urban innovation events in the world. The exhibition is being held under the theme “The Future of Urban Living,” a phrase that reflects not only the direction of the event but also the Kingdom’s broader ambitions to redefine the standards of modern cities.
The opening ceremony drew the attendance of distinguished investors, world-renowned urban planners, major real estate developers, financial institutions, architects, and technology pioneers from across several continents, all of whom converged in Riyadh to examine emerging possibilities in global urban development.
During his address, Al-Hogail began by expressing profound appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose guidance and continuous support, he emphasized, have allowed the real estate, housing, and municipal sectors to flourish at a pace previously unseen in the region.
He stressed that the leadership’s long-term vision, especially through the frameworks of Saudi Vision 2030, has created a fertile environment in which ambitious urban transformation projects can move from concept to reality. He noted that without this vision-driven approach, the Kingdom would not have witnessed the unprecedented progress it enjoys today, from large-scale housing projects to advanced digital municipal services.
Al-Hogail described Cityscape Global as a dynamic international platform that now serves as a mirror of the Kingdom’s evolving urban identity. What began as a regional event has, in only a few years, transformed into a global stage where Saudi Arabia demonstrates its ability to lead on future city design, sustainable communities, and next-generation real estate partnerships.
The minister explained that the event provides unparalleled opportunities for investors seeking strategic partnerships in the development of smart cities, master-planned districts, and high-quality, human-centric neighborhoods. In his words, the Kingdom has become a testing ground for bold ideas that bring together innovation, environmental responsibility, and economic competitiveness.
He also highlighted that the real estate landscape in Saudi Arabia is undergoing a fundamental shift in the roles of both local and international developers. According to him, a new collaborative framework is emerging—one that places emphasis not just on construction, but on integrated community planning, environmental sustainability, digital infrastructure, and diversified urban economies. He announced that the five largest cities in the Kingdom will collectively require more than 1.5 million new housing units by the year 2030, a figure that reflects the Kingdom’s fast-growing population and rising demand for modern housing solutions. Riyadh alone, he noted, will need over 731,000 additional units, reinforcing its position as one of the world’s fastest-expanding metropolitan regions. This, he said, confirms that Saudi Arabia is evolving into the Middle East’s most active and influential urban development market.
The minister revealed that real estate agreements valued at more than SAR 161.2 billion are expected to be signed within the first two days of the event. He described this as a strong indication of the sector’s vitality and the confidence investors place in the Saudi market. With continued demand from both regional and international parties, he suggested that these numbers will continue to grow as the exhibition progresses, further reinforcing the Kingdom’s status as a global hub for real estate investment.
Speaking about technological progress, Al-Hogail emphasized that Saudi Arabia’s real estate environment is now fully integrated with digital solutions. He outlined how PropTech innovations, artificial intelligence applications, augmented reality tools, and modern construction technologies are not only being adopted but are becoming central pillars in the planning, design, and management of projects. These innovations, he said, are enabling developers to build smarter, faster, and more efficiently—producing communities that meet global sustainability standards and future lifestyle expectations.
One of the most notable announcements made by the minister was the completion of the Kingdom’s first tokenization of a real estate title deed. He explained that Saudi Arabia is now among the earliest countries to establish a comprehensive digital infrastructure that links blockchain-based property tokens directly to official governmental records. This advancement, he commented, will increase transparency, facilitate secure investment transactions, and open the door for new forms of global real estate participation.
In concluding his remarks, Al-Hogail stated that Cityscape Global 2025 symbolizes the Kingdom’s broad ambition to build cities that rely on innovation, data-driven decision-making, energy efficiency, and sustainability as foundational principles. He said the event has become a national meeting point where developers, financial leaders, policymakers, and technology providers come together to explore opportunities that will shape the future of the sector. According to him, the Kingdom’s urban transformation journey is still in its early chapters, and the developments being presented at Cityscape Global reflect only a fraction of what is yet to come.