A partnership between the public and private sectors to improve the...

A partnership between the public and private sectors to improve the quality of life in Saudi cities

To raise the level of services and avoid faltering projects

Riyadh: Muhammad Al-Ayed

Governmental agencies and the like from the private sector entered into a sustainable partnership aimed at improving the quality of life in Saudi cities and governorates through the “City Service Provider Classification Program Agreement”. These partnerships aim to help establishments that develop and operate cities and raise the level of their services, in addition to avoiding stalling projects, according to Dr. Ahmed Qattan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
The “City Service Provider Classification Program” is an indicator that defines the facility’s competence and its financial, technical, administrative and executive capabilities, as classification is mandatory for city service providers wishing to compete with government projects for “transparency in procedures and excellence in services”.
Saudi Vision 2030 pays great attention to housing, urban design and the living environment by creating housing opportunities for individuals of all ages, income levels and abilities, so that everyone can live in a high-quality neighborhood environment. In addition, all members of society, citizens and residents, can, through appropriate urban design and environmental context, access the easiest way to services.
In order to improve the quality of life and the prosperity of Saudi cities, the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs in charge, Majed Al-Hogail, yesterday launched the “City Service Provider Classification Program”, which is considered an indicator for determining the competence of city service provision facilities and their financial, technical, administrative and executive capabilities, as well as those wishing to apply and compete on Government projects.
Government and private sectors participated in supporting the program with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs; These include the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the Ministry of Housing, e-Governmental Transactions (Yesser), the Saudi Contractors Authority, the Saudi Council of Engineers, and the General Authority for Conferences and Exhibitions. The private sector participated in the “Bayan” credit information program, “Masdar Company for Data Solutions”, and “Malath Cooperative Insurance Company”.
Memorandums of understanding were signed with these bodies, in order to contribute to the governance of the contracting sector and to enhance the existing cooperation between the Contractors Authority and the Ministry, the governance of the engineering facilities sector, the exhibitions and conferences sector, the evaluation and implementation of technical standards, and the provision of credit and banking information, as part of the process of classifying the facilities of city service providers. .
These agreements will contribute to providing the infrastructure with data on the facilities, in addition to providing insurance service against hidden defects for the facilities accredited by the Ministry, the governance of insurance companies, and linking insurance procedures with these facilities.
The agreements were keen to provide a follow-up to the establishments ’adherence to post-classification performance standards through the” sustainable building program “, corporate governance of technology, evaluation of technical standards and their application to improve the quality of classification services, which will be reflected in the improvement of facilities and services in Saudi cities.
For his part, Dr. Ahmed Qattan, Undersecretary for Contractor Classification Affairs, said in a press conference yesterday that the program aims to “evaluate the capacity of city service providers, financial, technical, administrative and executive to implement government projects related to their field of work and specialization, to provide qualified city service providers in various fields. And contribute to the qualitative development of building and construction ».
Kattan added that urging city service providers to continuously develop through classification, among the goals of the program, “in addition to enabling the Ministry’s agency to perform the tasks entrusted to it in a way that contributes to raising efficiency and productivity, in line with the ministry’s strategic objectives of achieving sustainable and balanced urban development. And improving the quality of life in the cities and regions of the Kingdom ». The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs stated that they aim to “achieve escalating levels of financial self-sufficiency and achieve high-quality sustainable institutional performance, while working on continuous improvement by covering cities with public facilities and high-quality, efficient and humanized infrastructure, in order to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.” ) In facilitating doing business, improving the level of services provided to citizens, developing the digital economy, enhancing the effectiveness of financial planning, and the efficiency of government spending.

Saudi

The Saudi economy