Saudi Arabia is developing an AI-powered municipal and housing ministry, with more than 20 planned applications and technology partnerships involving Chinese giants Huawei and ByteDance.
Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail outlined the initiative following an official visit to China, where discussions focused on smart cities, digital infrastructure and data centre investment.
The programme aims to integrate artificial intelligence, operational data and digital platforms across municipal and housing services, supporting Saudi Vision 2030.
Approximately 20% of the proposed AI applications will support government employees, while the remainder will target digital services, intelligent search, gamification and AI-driven marketing recommendations.
The ministry expects the technology to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and accelerate service delivery.
During meetings with Huawei and ByteDance executives, Al-Hogail discussed expanding cooperation through NHC Innovation, the technology arm supporting the ministry’s digital initiatives.
Potential projects include data engineering, AI deployment and enhanced digital customer services.
The discussions also examined establishing data centres within NHC Group’s real estate developments, potentially strengthening Saudi Arabia’s domestic computing infrastructure.
In Shenzhen, Al-Hogail visited Huawei’s Smart Operations and Control Center in Longgang District, examining platforms that consolidate traffic, environmental and urban data to support automated decision-making and city management.
The ministry also plans specialist training programmes covering AI, data analytics and smart city technologies to develop domestic expertise.
The initiative signals Saudi Arabia’s ambition to move beyond fragmented government digitisation towards integrated, data-driven municipal operations, although implementation schedules, investment commitments and measurable performance targets remain undisclosed.
