JEDDAH, 27 June 2004 — The local real estate sector has shown strong growth recently as Saudi businessmen continue to repatriate their overseas investments due to the political changes around the world, said a real estate expert.

Speaking to Arab News while taking part at the 7th Riyadh Real Estate Exhibition which concluded last week, Abdul Latif Al-Shareef, deputy chairman of the board of directors of Aqar Holding, added that there were now large investments in the core area of Madinah. This was in response to the government’s call for a bigger role of the private sector in the participation and development of the national economy.

“Our main concern is the development of Makkah and Madinah through various projects, and we play a pioneering role in the construction of projects vital to society regardless of the profits,” he said.

Al-Shareef stated that the presence of Aqar Holding this year at the exhibition was not to solicit investors in their projects but to introduce their Bani Al-Najjar mall, which will consist of 2,100 shops on four floors with a total area of 445,000 square meters.

He said that the project would contribute to absorbing the rising number of Umrah visitors, which are expected to reach 26 million in the next five years as a result of the new laws and Umrah regulations issued by the government.

The real estate sector offers lucrative investment opportunities to businessmen, banks and financial institutions.

At an annual growth rate of eight percent the population of Riyadh is projected to cross 10 million in 17 years, and the city alone will require at the least 1.5 million new housing units. The Riyadh Development Authority has estimated that the investment needed to revamp the city’s housing sector at more than SR1 trillion within the next 20 years.

According to a sample survey carried out by the Department of Statistics in the Ministry of Planning, the total population of Saudi Arabia went up from 16.95 million in 1992 to 19.90 million in 1999.

The Riyadh Development Authority has estimated that the investment needed to revamp the city’s housing sector alone at more than SR1 trillion within the next 20 years.

Riyadh’s population increases by 32 percent annually largely due to the growing migration from rural areas.

According to one estimate, Riyadh’s population will hit eight million by 2010 and the city will require 1.5 million housing units during the next 20 years.