Saudi PIF’s developer to hand over Riyadh homes in 2022

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The Kingdom’s state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched Roshn as a real estate company last year. (Supplied)
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“In due course, we will be providing detailed information on how citizens can apply for a home, in addition to all available financing options,” Roshn’s Group CEO David Grover told Arab News.
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Updated 28 February 2021
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Saudi PIF’s developer to hand over Riyadh homes in 2022

  • The Kingdom’s state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched Roshn as a real estate company last year
  • Roshn announced the signing of $930 million worth of construction contracts earlier this year

RIYADH: Roshn, Saudi Arabia’s national community developer, is planning to start off-plan sales at its flagship project in Riyadh later this year, with the handover of the first homes to tenants likely in early 2022, a senior executive said.

The Kingdom’s state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched Roshn as a real estate company last year. 

The developer’s master project in the Saudi capital will extend over an area of more than 20 million square meters and will include more than 30,000 homes. The project’s first phase involves 4,000 homes that will become available for sale by the middle of this year.

“In due course, we will be providing detailed information on how citizens can apply for a home, in addition to all available financing options,” Roshn’s Group CEO David Grover told Arab News.

“Our communities are entirely inclusive, with homes to suit all tastes and budgets. Our aim is to provide a modern, aspirational living experience while giving residents the freedom to interpret what this means to them in their own unique way. Our communities have been designed to inspire a strong sense of neighborly spirit and genuine connection between residents.”

Roshn announced the signing of $930 million worth of construction contracts earlier this year. Grover said the developer partnered with Rezaik Abdallah Al-Gedrawy & Co. as the main contractor for the first phase of the flagship development and have also awarded contracts to Posco E&C, AWJ International and Zuheir Ahmad Al Zahran and Company.

In relation to the timeline for their existing projects, Grover said: “Roshn’s customer experience center is expected to be ready in Q1 2021, while the handover process of homes will start in early 2022. Construction is planned to be completed by Q4 2023.”

With facilities such as mosques, schools, cafes, restaurants, healthcare, leisure and entertainment options, the community aims to cater to the needs of future residents and act as a self-contained “city within a city,” he added.

Roshn was launched in August 2020 by the PIF to deliver high-quality residential neighborhoods to Saudi nationals. The company is committed to supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of increasing the rate of homeownership in the country to 70 percent.

“Saudi Arabia is home to a number of world-class developers, and we are consistently looking to collaborate and partner with highly ambitious local firms to deliver on our mandate,” he said.

Despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Grover said Roshn has hit more than 90 percent of its 2020 business targets.

“Roshn will work closely with the mortgage industry to help meet the needs of each individual buyer’s personal circumstances and financial situation,” the CEO said of his immediate priorities for 2021.


US allows countries to buy Russian oil stranded at sea for 30 days

Updated 13 March 2026
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US allows countries to buy Russian oil stranded at sea for 30 days

  • US issues 30-day license for stranded Russian oil purchases
  • Measure the latest by Trump administration to calm energy markets jolted by Iran war

The United States issued ​a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.
The announcement comes a day after the US Energy Department said that the US would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb sky-rocketing oil prices in the wake of the war in Iran. That release was part of a broader commitment by the 32-nation International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil. The agency said earlier on Thursday that he war in the Middle East ‌was creating the ‌biggest oil supply disruption in history. Bessent, in a statement on X ​released ‌hours ⁠after benchmark ​oil prices ⁠shot above $100 a barrel, said the measure was “narrowly tailored” and “short-term” and would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.
“The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term,” Bessent said in the statement, echoing President Donald Trump.
Thursday’s license, which authorizes the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of March 12, will remain valid through midnight Washington time on April 11, according to the text of the license posted on ⁠the Treasury Department’s website. The US Treasury previously issued a 30-day waiver on March ‌5 specifically for India, allowing New Delhi to buy Russian oil stuck ‌at sea. Among other measures to tame energy prices, Trump has already ordered ​the US International Development Finance Corporation to provide political ‌risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf and said the US Navy ‌could escort ships in the region. In another attempt to control prices, the Trump administration is considering temporarily waiving a shipping rule known as the Jones Act to ensure energy and agricultural products can move freely between US ports, the White House said. Waiving the rule would allow foreign ships to carry fuel between US ports, potentially lowering costs and speeding deliveries.
“The president ‌is taking every action he can to lower prices ... unsanctioned oil that’s at sea to get that into the market, continuing to push our own ⁠producers to drill and ⁠expand production as fast and as far as they can, providing regulatory relief, and you’re going to see more and more in the days to come,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told Fox News’ “Primetime” program on Thursday.
There were about 124 million barrels of Russian-origin oil on water across 30 different locations globally as of Thursday, Fox News reported, adding that the US license would provide around five to six days of supply when taking into account the daily loss of oil from the Strait. Trump said earlier on Thursday the United States stood to make significant money from oil prices driven higher by the war, prompting criticism from some lawmakers who accused him of caring only about rich people.
US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent response by Tehran have widened regional tensions and paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting vital ​Middle East oil and gas flows and sending energy ​prices higher.
Raising the stakes for the global economy, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it will block oil shipments from the Gulf unless the US and Israeli attacks cease.