Saudi Arabia: Construction has potential to house citizens and provide jobs

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)’s comments to The Economist held out the promise that the housing crisis afflicting many poorer Saudi families could be tackled when land “in Mecca, Medina, in rural areas and in urban areas” – among the state’s many unutilised assets – is finally offered for investment (see above). “We have 4m m2 in Mecca alone. Jeddah for example: there is land, total area about 5m m2, right on the beach front in the heart of Jeddah. It is owned by the air defence. The value of the land itself is about $10bn,” MBS said, in a transcript published by The Economist.