Offsite construction start-up Katerra has been awarded a contract by the Saudi Ministry of Housing to build 4,101 residential units across the country. The units are being built for the beneficiaries of the Development Housing Initiative in line with the Kingdom’s objectives.

The initiative is one of the programmes under Vision 2030 and looks to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged families in the Kingdom, enabling them to own their own homes or utilise them according to their needs and financial capacity.

According to a statement, 2,482 units will come up in Makkah, 1,043 in Madinah, 140 in Al Baha, 191 in Al Jawf, while 245 will take shape in Al Qasim.

Katerra’s foray into Saudi Arabia is backed by the Soft Bank’s Vision Fund. The firm aims to introduce advanced construction technology to support the Kingdom’s infrastructure plan outlined in Vision 2030.

Ash Bhardwaj, president (Asia and Middle East) of Katerra says the company is committed to supporting the initiative and plans to use its unique technology to bring better homes faster to families in the Kingdom. Bhardwaj made the remarks after signing the deal in the presence of Minister of Housing Majed Bin Abdullah Al Hogail and Ziyad Al Ashaikh, partner and head of Softbank SBIA.

Bhardwaj says that Katerra has business plans to rapidly expand its operations in the Saudi market, and revolutionise its construction sector by introducing advanced global practices. Bhardwaj also said the deal is a continuation of a series of agreements to build housing units in several cities and provinces across the Kingdom.