Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Madinah Region, affirmed that the region is witnessing diverse investment activity that reflects the Kingdom’s ambitious vision to strengthen promising economic sectors, in line with the leadership’s aspirations and enhances Madinah’s position as a leading investment destination. This came during the Governor’s patronage of the Madinah Investment Forum, which is organized by the Madinah Chamber over two days and reviews the size of investment opportunities in the region.

The governor of the city pointed to the economic potential and competitive advantages of the Madinah region, as well as the new investment opportunities in light of the development projects that the region is witnessing within the comprehensive strategy to develop the business environment and stimulate local and international investments, which contributes to achieving sustainable development and raises the quality of life for residents and visitors.

Prince Salman bin Sultan explained that the Madinah Investment Forum is a platform that highlights investment opportunities, attracts capital, and supports partnerships between the public and private sectors to achieve economic and developmental growth, noting the importance of integrating efforts between different sectors to achieve strategic goals that serve the interests of the region and enhance its position as one of the most prominent investment destinations in the Kingdom.

During the ceremony, the Prince of Madinah Region was briefed on the exhibition accompanying the forum, which includes pavilions for partners and participating entities, with the aim of showcasing and introducing investment opportunities and creating new investment partnerships in the region.

City Ventures initiative

Prince Salman bin Sultan launched the “Madinah Ventures” initiative, which aims to promote innovation and support economic growth in cooperation with the Economic Development Center, the Madinah Chamber of Commerce, and the Value Makers Studio. This will be achieved by providing a sustainable business environment based on diversity and strategic partnerships with government and private entities through the establishment of a $10 million investment fund, attracting 30 investors, and founding five new companies annually starting in 2025. The Madinah Ventures program is based on achieving this comprehensive vision through the implementation of five strategic projects.

The Governor of the Madinah region handed over the prizes to the winners of the “Saudi Burner” program, with an amount of 270,000 riyals allocated to support the winning companies.

At the end of the ceremony, Prince Salman bin Sultan honored the partners and sponsors of the forum, and then the first dialogue session was launched entitled “Madinah Al-Munawwarah.. The beacon of investment in the Kingdom,” with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Industrial Affairs, Engineer Khalil Ibrahim Salma, and the Assistant Minister of Transport and Logistics, Ahmed Al-Hassan. During the session, the national investment strategy was reviewed and promising investment sectors in the Madinah Al-Munawwarah region were discussed, in addition to reviewing the most prominent achievements and development and investment projects in the Madinah Al-Munawwarah region.

Created 150,000 job opportunities

The Governor of Madinah Region launched the updated master plan for the Economic Knowledge City, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the Economic Cities and Zones Authority, Nabil Khoja, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Economic Knowledge City Company, Amin Shaker. The updated master plan for the Economic Knowledge City is the cornerstone of the project, which will extend over an area of ​​6.8 square kilometers by 2040, and will contribute to creating 150,000 job opportunities and adding about 58 billion riyals to the gross domestic product.

Prince Salman bin Sultan oversaw the signing of a group of contracts and agreements, including a memorandum of understanding between the Madinah Chamber and Ru’a Al Madinah Holding Company, with the aim of establishing a framework for cooperation and enhancing local content to develop the economic system in the Madinah region, in addition to a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Investment and Value Makers Studio (VMS), with the aim of partnering to build an integrated entrepreneurial community to attract quality entrepreneurial companies to Madinah.

250 opportunities worth 57 billion riyals

During his speech, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Madinah Chamber, Mazen Rajab, confirmed that the Madinah Investment Forum targets economic sectors of importance and relative value to the region, including Hajj, Umrah and visitation, tourism, industry, mining, agriculture and logistics services. He pointed out that the forum will witness, over two days, dialogue sessions with the participation of more than 20 officials and expert speakers, in addition to specialized workshops, as well as the launch of initiatives and the holding of more than 250 bilateral meetings and the review of 250 investment opportunities with a value exceeding 57 billion riyals, in addition to the signing of partnerships with a value exceeding 5 billion riyals.

He pointed out that Madinah ranked first locally, fifth in the Gulf, and seventh in the Middle East in the 2024 Top 100 Tourist Destinations Index, fourth locally and seventh in the Arab world in the Smart Cities Index, second in the Kingdom for relocation to work in it, and first globally in terms of safety for women traveling alone.

Receiving 14 million visitors

The head of the Medina Chamber of Commerce indicated that Medina receives more than 14 million visitors from outside the Kingdom, whose spending last year reached 50 billion riyals. He explained that Medina's growth rates averaged 9% for GDP, 8% for the Saudi workforce, and 21% for foreign investment, reaching 54 billion riyals this year. He noted that projects currently underway in Medina are valued at 210 billion riyals, half of which are from the private sector. Medina ranks first nationally in terms of average hotel occupancy and room rate, with an estimated gap of 125,000 hotel rooms by 2030, 500,000 square meters of retail space, and 90,000 residential units. He added that the region holds 20% of the Kingdom's mineral resources, estimated at 9 trillion riyals.

Agreements, contracts, and memoranda of understanding

The Madinah Region Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with HAVAS HOLDING to discuss and evaluate potential business opportunities for projects in Madinah, valued at $1 billion, in the real estate development, hospitality, and logistics sectors. Additionally, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Al-Muqarr Development and Investment Company, the investment arm of the Madinah Region Municipality, and Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair Holding Group to establish a social club in Madinah. Furthermore, Knowledge Economic City Company signed a number of contracts and agreements, including a framework agreement with Raseel Real Estate Company and Sidra Financial Company to establish a real estate development fund for the Dahya Al-Madinah project, a mixed-use (hotel, commercial, and residential) project on an area of ​​33,000 square meters with an investment cost of 1.04 billion riyals. A contract was also signed with China Gee's Huba Company to implement seven residential towers worth 500 million riyals within the Al-Ulya project, along with contracts for the implementation of electromechanical works worth 232 million riyals with the Technical Company for the residential and hotel towers in the Multaqa Al-Madinah project.