Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company (NHC) has selected US-based Hill International to provide project management consultation (PMC) services for the new city of Dahiyat al-Fursan, in northeast Riyadh.

Under the agreement, Hill will manage all of Al-Fursan's first and second sub-developments and infrastructure packages.

This includes programme management, cost estimating, schedule management, risk management, contract management, change management and all related PMC services.

Al-Fursan deals

NHC and Saudi Arabia’s Housing Ministry signed investment agreements in February totalling more than SR24bn ($6.4bn) to launch Al-Fursan.

A total of 18 real estate development agreements with companies including Retal Urban Development Company and Sumou Real Estate Company were signed for the district’s first phase.

NHC also signed four consultancy contracts to manage projects and supervise the implementation of the district’s phase one and the deployment of comprehensive infrastructure works.

Other deals signed in February involve the development of facilities, including commercial, recreational, hospitals, health and sports centres, mosques and schools.

It is understood that an agreement was signed with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to implement the detailed plans for electrical works in the district.

Al-Fursan scheme

Dahiyat al-Fursan is the most extensive scheme in terms of the area and number of housing units that NHC is implementing.

It covers an area of 35 million square metres (sq m) with more than 50,000 residential units for more than 250,000 people. It features over 190 facilities and commercial centres with green spaces exceeding 6 million sq m.

The project aims to meet the needs of today’s Saudi families, in line with the goals of the Vision 2030 Housing Programme to increase the proportion of Saudi households that own a house to 70 per cent by 2030.

By 2025, Riyadh plans to oversee the development of more than 1 million homes to meet growing demand in the kingdom.

Amid rising urbanisation, major Saudi cities, including the capital, have been under-supplied and real estate prices are rising, making access to property impossible for many.

By 2030, the Saudi capital aims to more than double its population, from 7-8 million to 15-20 million, and become one of the 10 wealthiest cities in the world.

MEED's April 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

> ECONOMY: Riyadh steps up the Vision 2030 tempo
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction project ramp-up accelerates
> UPSTREAM: Aramco slated to escalate upstream spending
> DOWNSTREAM: Petchems ambitions define Saudi downstream
> POWER: Saudi Arabia reinvigorates power sector
> WATER: Saudi water begins next growth phase
> BANKING: Saudi banks bid to keep ahead of the pack