Korea and Saudi Arabia held the 1st Korea-Saudi Arabia Housing Cooperation Forum at Seoul Lotte Hotel World on Nov. 29.
Saudi Minister Majed bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Hogail of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing visited Korea from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30.
Minister Al-Hogail toured Korean companies specializing smart city and housing and held the joint forum with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and shared housing smart visions and technologies of both countries.
MOLIT Minister Won Hee-ryong proposed a cooperative platform between both countries when he toured the Saudi Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing on Nov. 6. As Saudi Minister Al-Hogail made a visit to Korea, both sides held the forum.
The forum took on significance since it became the first event after both countries had agreed to build common ground by expanding cooperative areas following Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visit here.
About 200 government, related organization, company officials and experts from both countries participated in the forum.
Ali Rajhi, deputy minister at the Saudi Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing, introduced Saudi Arabia’s diverse examples and technologies under the topic “Saudi Arabia’s Smart Local Autonomy and AI.”
At a session on Korea, MOLIT, LH, HUG and K-water made presentations on Korea’s urban development, housing policies and examples.
The forum served as an opportunity for Korean companies to showcase K-housing technologies, such as modular houses, digital construction and smart home.
As expectations of Korea’s “2nd Middle East Construction Boom” are running high following Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman’s visit here, Korean companies pin high hope on the winning of mega projects, such as “Neom City” from Saudi Arabia by showcasing their advanced technologies.
Five Korean companies introduced Korea’s technologies and capabilities in areas, such as modular homes, smart city, IT and smart construction.
POSCO E&C made a presentation on smart modular construction technologies and examples while Hyundai E&C showcased its smart construction technology vision, such as construction automation and digital construction technology.
In particular, participants gave a keen interest and attention to the modular home and smart city sectors in which both countries struck MOUs during Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman’s visit here.
The two minsters of both countries agreed to strike a new deal by expanding the existing MOU on cooperation in the housing sector to housing and smart city to ramp up cooperation in new industry areas.
Meanwhile, Saudi Minister Al-Hogail toured Naver on Nov. 29 and discussed and shared urban issues, such as transportation, security and hygiene and service technologies, such as Korea’s digital twin on housing and structure management. He also visited Techno Valley in Pangyo and got a briefing on the new city of Pangyo.
On Nov. 30, Minister Al-Hogail met with notables, such as Seoul Mayor Oh Sae-hoon and LG CNS president while touring major sites related to housing and smart city, including Raemian Gallery and LG Science Park.
MOLIT has built cooperative groundwork with the Saudi government as the ministry accompanied Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman on visit here on Nov. 17, sent “One Team Korea,” a public- and private-sector joint market exploration delegation from Nov. 4 to 9 and held the Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference (GICC) inviting Neom CIO Manar Almoneef on Aug. 30.
MOLIT Minister Won, said, “From now on, this cooperative momentum is expected to continue into areas, such as mobility and energy, and through it, we’ll do our best to serve as a bridge for Korean companies to land more projects in Saudia Arabia.”
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