VOICES FROM THE REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
Could you give us a brief introduction to the services you provide?
We work in the field of IT engineering with a strong focus on geography, across the spectrum of geophysics of the earth to topography, structures and hydrology, planning, zoning, climate, and the environment, and we provide geospatial data for all of those. We also provide services for building information management modeling (BIM) for structures. This is advanced technology, and we are moving in the direction of intelligent 4D data. To gather this, what we call smart geospatial data, we utilize satellites, aircrafts, drones, mobile mapping systems, navigation, and GPS. While previously all these were manual processes, today we use AI, computer facilities, and graphics cards. Medina will be the first example of a smart city in Saudi Arabia, and we serve as the consultant. We have mapped 15,000 archaeological sites in Al Ula at a 3- to 5-cm level, in an area that is entirely smart geospatial. Within these smart cities, we use data sensor analysis, which can be applied for multiple purposes. We also work on smart city management. In another area, we work on complete archival automation and government portals. We are also working on renewable energy services.
What are Amaken International Group's current business divisions?
Amaken International Group works in marketing of real estate, valuation, property management, and feasibility studies. Due to new rules in Saudi, we have had to separate out our real estate and construction equipment-related businesses. Amaken International Group started around nine years ago in the loans business.
Under Vision 2030 the Ministry of Housing has an ambition to increase home ownership to 75% by 2030. What role can Amaken International Group play here?
Amaken International Group can provide excellent services to people looking for properties. Potential clients can use our website to refine their search in terms of property size, number of bedrooms, and location. We can help them find what they are looking for. We can also help people by valuing a property for them before they approach the bank for finance, or to ensure the developer has completed the house properly before the customer agrees to buy it. We can give these kinds of services to house purchasers. At the megaproject level, the Ministry of Housing is doing a great deal of work to develop housing projects to meet the home ownership target. Providing brokerage services is one part of our contribution; we also deal with other brokers.
Which aspect of the Vision 2030 reforms will impact the industry and TDC?
The vision laid the groundwork for new government projects and processes that are less bureaucratic and more transparent in addition to the privatization of certain public companies and agencies. These provide great opportunities for the private sector to get involved in the country's infrastructure such as power stations, airports and sea ports, hotels and resorts, railways, medical centers, and industrial cities. This will ensure the country has a bright and promising future.
What are your ambitions and priorities for the future?
We focus on Vision 2030. The Red Sea Project will be the main new project for us, with a substantial number of hotels set to be constructed. All this should be fair enough for us. We are assured by the number of government-planned projects that have already begun. Activity is certainly picking up. One new project, Qiddiya, recently unveiled its master plan, which is something we might look at moving forward. However, we need to focus on our core expertise. We will announce more projects at the end of 2019. We are focusing on building up the energy sector, as are some of our partners.
VOICES FROM THE REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Interview
Mohammed A. Al-Mowkley , Deputy Minister of Water Services, Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture & CEO, National Water Company (NWC)
NWC leads the Kingdom's efforts to preserve water as a non-renewable national resource and drastically reduce the average per capita water consumption.
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Majed H. Al Saadi , Managing Director, Priority Projects Office (PPO), Local Content and Government Procurement Authority
PPO and ECA act as an accelerator for the realization of Vision 2030 by bridging the gap between the private and public sectors and helping the government diversify the economy in the long run.
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HRH Princess Hala bint Khaled bin Sultan Al-Saud C, Chairman, Saudi Law Conference (SLC) organizing committee & Founder,, Burhan Almarifa
Burhan Almarifa is focused on maturing the legal sector, encouraging innovation, and enabling research and development in KSA through knowledge transfer and consultancy.
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Sahel N. Abduljauwad, Rector, King Fahd University oF Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)
The King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals has long been the backbone of Saudi Arabia's formidable drilling expertise. Today, it is working to train the next generation of renewable energy and water management scientists.
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Dr. Abdullah Al-Rubaish, Rector, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University (IAU)
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rubaish was appointed vice president of KFU in 2007 and president in 2010. He combined his executive experience from serving in various deanships at KFU with academic practices to become associate professor of medicine and work as a medical consultant at the Department of Internal Medicine. He graduated from KFU's College of Medicine and completed his medical internship at KFHU, where he also pursued a fellowship program. He became a member of the UK Royal College of Physicians and the Arab Board after he completed his sub-subspecialty in Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Alberta, Canada.
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Rajaa Moumena, Founder & President, Future Institute of Higher Education and Training
Saudi Arabia is allowing women more privileges, including driving and becoming ambassadors. The Future Institute of Higher Education and Training is trying to help by providing courses they need to adapt to this new world.
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