Riyadh: The National Housing Company (NHC) has signed a cooperation agreement with China’s CITIC Construction to establish an industrial city and logistics zones for building materials, comprising 12 factories in Saudi Arabia, to secure supply chains for residential projects. The agreement was signed during the official visit of Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail to China, in the presence of the CEO of NHC, Mohammed bin Saleh Albuty.

The cooperation agreement with CITIC Construction is part of NHC's efforts to secure supply chains for its residential projects, ensuring their timely implementation with high quality, noted the NHC. The company added that the project will attract 12 factories from major specialized manufacturers of building materials, benefiting from Chinese experiences. In addition, several local factories will join to enhance the level of operations and attract the best service providers for various sectors of the company, its subsidiaries, and other projects, following the highest international standards.

The agreement will contribute to maximizing the economic and developmental impact of the real estate sector in the Kingdom and developing and raising the quality of residential projects, the company said. It will also promote the national transformation in the construction sector through these industrial cities and logistics zones, which will serve the Chinese factories in localizing the building materials industry. Moreover, these facilities will provide opportunities for medium and small local factories to expand and help in providing direct production lines for the company's projects, as well as developing the local building materials industry and creating more opportunities in the sector.

The agreement aims to improve the quality of housing unit products in construction works, serving as an extension of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Saudi Arabia and China. The partnership agreement between both countries was signed during the visit of the Chinese President to Saudi Arabia in December 2022. It includes an action plan to activate the provisions of a memorandum of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China in the housing field.