Abdullah Bin Mahfouz, chairman of the board of directors of the National Exhibition Company, said at a press conference that the event would attract investors from the Kingdom as well as from other parts of the world.
Others present at the press conference at Riyadh Marriott Hotel on Saturday, included, Mohammed Naem Alamir, director of Facilities Design and Urban Design of the Riyadh Municipality and Deep Marwaha, group director at IIR Middle East.
The Arriyadh Development Authority, the main body responsible for the development of the city of Riyadh, will participate in the exhibition and the accompanying conference. It will present its comprehensive strategic plan for the city of Riyadh, overview its achievements and elaborate on the vision and aspirations for the future development of the city of Riyadh in all its aspects.
The Riyadh real estate market is expected to profit from the positive economic indicators such as oil prices and the Kingdom's overall real GDP, which will grow by 7.3 percent in 2011, up from previous forecast of 6.9 percent.
“These figures are encouraging for developers and investors and represent a real chance for affordable housing,” Bin Mahfouz said, adding that the housing sector is the driving force in the Kingdom and the government has announced that it will be spending SR250 billion in this sector over the next 10 years.
“Considering the Kingdom's very young demography and the housing gap of 150,000 units a year, the adaptation of the mortgage law would make the sector really flourish.”
“This positive outlook is further strengthened by the government’s stimulus package that aims to invest significant public capital into a broad range of public sector developments and infrastructure projects,” Bin Mahfouz added.
“Development of large scale projects like the King Abdullah Financial District and the formation of economic cities, will ensure that one of the region’s largest real estate markets will continue to move forward and offer a gateway for opportunities,” he stressed.
Marwaha said the event will also host the World Architecture Congress in Saudi Arabia, which is being supported by the Royal Institute of British Architects and AIA Middle East (AIA ME), a chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The congress is an exclusive gathering for the entire architectural community in the Kingdom, providing an unsurpassed opportunity for industry leaders to meet and discuss the latest trend in architecture and learn about the latest government projects.
