The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing announced that 7 million square meters of white land in the regions of Tabuk, Hail and Jazan have entered development or circulation paths, as part of the results of implementing the white land and vacant real estate fees system, and efforts to stimulate land development and raise the efficiency of its use within urban areas.
The Ministry explained that the areas included 5.3 million square meters of land that had entered into circulation, and 1.3 million square meters of land under development, in addition to 466 thousand square meters of land that had been developed.
It indicated that 21 housing projects in the three regions benefited from the revenues from white land fees, within the framework of directing the proceeds of fees to support housing projects and raise the readiness of the associated infrastructure.
The Ministry stressed the continuation of work to motivate landowners to develop and benefit from it, and to accelerate the entry of unexploited lands into the urban development cycle, in addition to raising the efficiency of land use within urban areas, increasing the real estate and housing supply, and supporting the balance between supply and demand.
The Ministry had previously announced the entry of about 286 million square meters of land into development or circulation paths in various regions of the Kingdom, distributed between the Eastern Region with 146 million square metres, Riyadh with 71 million, Mecca with 28 million, Medina with 19 million, Al-Qassim with 15 million, and Asir with 7 million square metres.
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and the World Bank Group announced the launch of a partnership and national charter to develop the mining sector in Egypt, as part of an initiative that includes eight countries.
A press statement issued by the Ministry of Petroleum on Sunday stated that “the Egyptian National Charter aims to raise the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product to 6 percent.”
The mining sector's contribution currently amounts to about 1 percent of Egypt's gross domestic product.
The ministry’s plan includes legislative and financial reforms, “which has already begun to be worked on and achieved in the last two years, improving geological data to attract investments, and developing digital systems and mineral processing centers, while the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are cooperating to enhance governance and capabilities and attract investments to the sector.” According to the statement.
Minister of Petroleum Karim Badawy stressed that Egypt is working on a comprehensive development of the mining sector and creating an attractive climate for investment, to build a sustainable industry capable of competing and occupying a distinguished position on the investment map regionally and internationally, stressing the importance of developing partnership and cooperation relations with the World Bank and international financial institutions to provide financing, attract investments and direct technical support.
For her part, Namrata Thapar, Global Director of the Minerals and Mining Sector at the World Bank Group, stressed the importance of the partnership with Egypt to support efforts to develop the mining sector.
During her participation in the Egypt Mining Forum recently, she praised the serious reforms she witnessed and a clear national vision to bring about a qualitative shift in the sector, in addition to the availability of mining components, infrastructure and an investment climate that supports attracting investments and accelerating the pace of development, stressing that the developments she witnessed reflect a clear trend towards developing the sector and maximizing the benefit from the mining potential that Egypt possesses, in a way that enhances opportunities for cooperation and partnership with the World Bank Group to support these efforts.
At the global level, the World Bank Group intends to increase its support for the mining sector five-fold, to reach $19 billion during the fiscal years from 2026 to 2030, by providing financing and attracting private sector investments.
The net profits of the Modern Mills Food Products Company increased by 11 percent during the third quarter of 2026, to reach 62.3 million riyals ($16.61 million), compared to 56.14 million riyals ($14.97 million) in the same quarter of the previous year.
The company explained, in a statement on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) website, that profit growth was supported by increased sales, although it was partially affected by the rise in raw material costs that were not fully passed on to customers, and the increase in selling and distribution expenses associated with geographical expansion, in addition to the rise in financing costs.
On a quarterly basis, net profits increased by 16.6 percent compared to the second quarter of the current year, in which the company recorded profits amounting to 53.43 million riyals ($14.25 million).
Revenues increased by 25.8 percent during the third quarter, reaching 328.48 million riyals ($87.59 million), compared to 261.21 million riyals ($69.66 million) in the same period of the previous year.
The company attributed the revenue growth to the increase in quantities sold across various major sectors, in addition to the improvement in average selling prices.
Modern Mills shares rose by 1.04 percent to reach 25.26 riyals.
