Saudi Minister of Housing Visits Korea... Joint Hosting of the '1st Korea-Saudi Housing Cooperation Forum'

Sharing Smart City Vision, Expecting Expansion of Cooperation Areas Including NEOM City
POSCO and Hyundai Construction Present Vision Utilizing Construction Technology

On the 6th, Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, visited Saudi Arabia and met with Al Hogail, Minister of Housing, for a discussion.
[Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 29th that it jointly held the "1st Korea-Saudi Housing Cooperation Forum" with the Saudi Arabian delegation visiting Korea at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, sharing visions and technologies related to housing and smart cities between the two countries.

The forum was proposed as a cooperation platform between the two countries by Minister Won Heeryong of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport during his visit to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, responsible for housing and smart cities in the Saudi government on November 6th. It was held promptly following the visit of Majid Al Hogail, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing of Saudi Arabia.

This event holds great significance as the first joint event between Korea and Saudi Arabia following the visit of Crown Prince Bin Salman on the 17th, which fostered a consensus to expand cooperation areas such as the development of NEOM City. It serves as the first housing and smart city cooperation platform between the Korean and Saudi governments.

About 200 participants including ministers from both countries, government officials, related organizations, companies, and experts attended the event, where housing and smart city policies and technologies from each country were introduced.

In the Saudi session, Ali Al-Rajhi, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, presented Saudi Arabia’s "Smart Local Government and Artificial Intelligence" with various cases and technologies. Abdullah Rahman, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, and Rayan, Vice President of the National Housing Company, presented major projects promoted by the National Housing Company.

In the Korean session, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) presented Korea’s urban development and housing policies and cases. Following this, five companies from fields such as modular housing, smart cities, IT, and smart construction introduced Korea’s technologies and capabilities.

POSCO Construction presented smart modular construction technology and cases, while Hyundai Construction proposed a vision for utilizing smart construction technologies such as construction automation and digital construction technology.

Naver introduced its new headquarters 1784, which integrates digital technologies related to smart cities and smart buildings, including robotics, AI, 5G, and IoT technologies. KT introduced its smart city business providing integrated urban operation solutions.

Proptech company Zigbang demonstrated a smart home that transitions to technology-centered residential life by combining mobile model houses with hardware and software.

Minister Won Heeryong, in his welcoming remarks, proposed, "Today’s forum is an important cooperation momentum involving governments and companies of both countries. Let us regularize this as an expanded cooperation platform where the two countries jointly pursue not only housing cooperation but also future smart city concepts such as NEOM City."

Minister Majid Al Hogail expressed, "I am very pleased to visit Korea at this important moment when the housing cooperation platform between the two countries is being launched for the first time. The information, technology, and experiences shared today between the governments and companies of both countries will be an important foundation for jointly creating a new global urban and housing cooperation model."

Meanwhile, the ministers of both countries agreed to expand the existing housing cooperation MOU to include housing and smart cities and to re-sign it to strengthen cooperation in future new industries, which has been activated through this forum.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.