As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with one of the world’s most ambitious housing programmes, the National Housing Company (NHC) has emerged as a central driver of the Kingdom’s built-environment transformation. Speaking with Gulf Business at Cityscape Global 2025, Mohammed Albuty, chief executive officer of NHC, detailed how the company is scaling at unprecedented speed — from unit delivery and community design to global partnerships and supply chain localisation — all in support of Vision 2030’s economic and social targets.
Albuty began by setting the broader context for NHC’s expanding mandate. “NHC currently is playing more than a real estate developer role. We are actually a key pillar of Saudi Vision 2030, especially through the housing program, where one of the major targets is to increase the home ownership of Saudi citizens to 70%,” he said. “The government has achieved 65% by 2024, which is a year ahead of the target of 65% by 2025. NHC played a major part and contributed to that target.”
Beyond expanding homeownership, NHC has been central to a shift in how communities across Saudi Arabia are designed and experienced. “In the past, most of the development was only just developing lands and people just built homes on the land, so there were no open spaces, green spaces and so on,” Albuty explained. “We are raising that bar. We sell all the units, all the livable community with all its services and amenities.”
The company’s scale is now unmatched in the region. “We are active in 17 cities, 25 destinations, with many local and international partners working with us,” he noted. “Yesterday, we announced our partnership with four new international developers with an investment value of 8 billion Saudi riyals. We lead in 2024, more than 62% of all off-plan sales for residential units.”
Delivering at scale: From 134,000 new launches to a 600,000-unit vision
A key highlight of NHC’s year has been the launch of more than 134,000 residential units — a significant milestone in its aggressive delivery plan.
“You know, this target is very aggressive,” Albuty admitted. “But we are lucky for many reasons. First, there is demand. There is local demand. As a CEO of a real estate development company, I’m lucky because there is a demand, so we can have a machine working to meet that demand.”
NHC’s long-term targets are among the most ambitious in the world:
• 300,000 units by 2025
• 600,000 units by 2030
According to Albuty, the capital investment behind this pipeline reflects the scale of Saudi’s housing agenda. “The total investment only for residential of the 600,000 units is exceeding or reaching half a trillion Saudi riyals,” he said. “It means how much investment — and it is all SAS driven. So that means we have to have solid and strong partners to support us.”
NHC functions not just as a developer but as an ecosystem enabler. “As NHC we will develop almost 20%, 80% is local or international developers,” Albuty explained. “We support them in the whole value chain — from master planning to marketing and sales, even to construction and supply chain initiatives, and in handover and post-handover.”
This support also includes advanced digital platforms for sales, supply chain management, and developer enablement, underscoring NHC’s shift from traditional development to integrated infrastructure delivery.
Global partnerships crossing SAR48bn
NHC’s growth has also been fueled by a widening network of global partnerships. “International developers — before yesterday, we announced 40 billion worth of investment for international only,” Albuty said. “Yesterday, we announced more agreements worth 8 billion, which is now, with international, almost close to 48 billion worth of investment.”
These partnerships span the US, Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, China, and the wider GCC. Notable groups include TMG, Mountain View, Hassan Allam, and major East Asian players. “All of them from West and East, the Middle East — they trust the Saudi market. They found an opportunity in the Saudi market. They trust NHC as a partner,” he said. “They found real opportunity, and they’re expanding their projects with us.”
This international expansion is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s goal of integrating global expertise, capital, and innovation into its real estate and housing landscape.
Securing supply chains for a half-trillion-riyal pipeline
As NHC’s development pipeline accelerates, supply chain security has become a top priority. Albuty emphasised that the challenge is twofold: guaranteeing timely supply and maintaining cost efficiency.
“In such supply that we are working in, there is a real challenge, which is how to secure the supply chain — the materials on time and on budget,” he said. “The mandate is huge and the time is very short.”
To address this, NHC has rolled out a multi-layered supply chain strategy anchored by its Supply Chain Pro platform. “We signed an agreement with a lot of local and international suppliers in the whole value chain,” he explained. “For example, steels, precast, cement, tiles, even aluminium and doors.”
NHC has also established four industrial zones within its developments, functioning as logistics hubs and manufacturing clusters. “Those factories and workshops are built there to be close to the projects and to ensure localisation of the material,” said Albuty. “It helps in solidisation, increases the local content, and ensures our projects get the materials we are looking for at the acceptable price and within the time.”
With supply chain investments exceeding SAR21bn, NHC is building one of the most advanced homebuilding supply ecosystems in the region.
As Vision 2030 enters a new phase of delivery, NHC stands at the forefront of shaping Saudi Arabia’s urban future. Its transformation from a housing enabler to a master-developer, ecosystem builder, and global investment partner reflects the giant scale of the Kingdom’s ambitions.
