The Ministry of Health has made significant progress in tackling the effects of land shortage on ministry projects.

The ministry has allocated SR700 million for purchasing land. Approvals were also issued for the expropriation of more lands for ministry projects.

“Medical centers across the Kingdom are nearly complete and every neighborhood will soon have its own medical center,” said a source. This, they said, would reduce the overall number of delayed projects.

Ministry projects are mostly stalled due to the scarcity of available land. “The ministry received SR700 million to purchase land, which is a huge sum of money that can resolve many such issues,” said the source. The ministry had earlier tried to expropriate lands to rescue 230 medical projects. The problem of land shortage is not limited to major cities or big regions, said the source. “Even small governorates face the same problem,” he said.

The Health Ministry has endorsed two mechanisms to complete distressed projects. The first involves making joining efforts with regional governors to facilitate finding suitable land upon which to establish projects. The second involves expropriating lands or expanding existing lands for the same purpose.

The process of expropriation began three months ago with the aim of establishing medical centers on lands located within neighborhood borders.

Around 200 medical centers and 30 hospitals are currently awaiting land allocation. Demolition operations on expropriated properties near King Saud Medical City in Al-Shumaisi in Riyadh have been already implemented.

The Health Ministry recently completed the establishment of 28 hospitals. Another 21 hospitals are expected to be completed by the end of this year.