Saudi Arabian Airlines, SDAIA and SCAI team up to harness power of AI

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Updated 16 September 2022
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Saudi Arabian Airlines, SDAIA and SCAI team up to harness power of AI

Saudi Arabian Airlines, known as Saudia, the Kingdom’s national flag carrier, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority and the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence to utilize digitization and artificial intelligence solutions and cement the Kingdom’s global leadership in the field.

The signing took place in the Global AI Summit, which was held at King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh from Sept. 13-15, under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, chairman of the SDAIA.

Under the terms of the MoU, the three parties will establish a joint framework for utilizing the latest AI and emerging technologies to enhance customer experiences, in addition to exploring ways to collaborate on developing and deploying AI applications. The three parties have agreed to utilize advanced technology and natural language processing across Saudia’s customer care and digital channels.

Dr. Majid Altuwaijri, chief executive of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence, signed the MoU on behalf of SDAIA, while Ayman Al-Rashed, CEO of SCAI, and Dr. Khaled Alhazmi, Saudia’s vice president of operations and IT support, signed for their respective companies.

“We at Saudia are delighted to be joining forces with SDAIA and SCAI on developing and deploying advanced, sophisticated digital products,” said Dr. Alhazmi. “Throughout our digital channels, our never-ending quest to enhance our guests’ experiences has always been digital-first, and we will be working with emerging technologies, AI, and the Internet of Things to take the way we communicate with them to the next level.”

Al-Rashed, the CEO of SCAI, expressed his enthusiasm to be working with the Kingdom’s national flag carrier to enhance its customer experience using the latest in AI and emerging technologies.

“We discussed ways to develop and utilize AI applications to help accomplish Saudia’s strategic targets, including supplying them with SauTech, a voice-to-text system that is sure to elevate the experiences of Saudia’s guests,” said Al-Rashed.

“SCAI and Saudia will work together to use the system’s highly sophisticated speech recognition solution to improve their customer care applications.”

Dr. Altuwaijri, the CEO of NACI, stressed SDAIA’s intention to build a data-driven, AI-powered economy, saying: “Our mission is to unleash the latent value in big data to achieve the targets of Vision 2030.

“This MoU will help us diversify the sectors in which the Kingdom can develop and apply AI solutions and air transport is one of the key sectors to benefit from these technologies.”

Saudia announced earlier this week that it has been named strategic sponsor and official carrier of the Global AI Summit, a three-day event in which more than 200 speakers representing digitization and AI policymakers from 70 countries attended, together with investors and the top executives of major tech corporations.

Saudia’s sponsorship of the prestigious event underlines its commitment to the targets of Vision 2030, including establishing the Kingdom as a global leader among data-driven, AI-powered economies and applying cutting-edge AI solutions to ensure that its guests and staff benefit from the best possible service.

To celebrate the occasion of the Global AI Summit, Saudia offered attendees discounts of up to 20 percent on Saudia Holidays packages. 


Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment projects worth SR8bn launched in Makkah

Updated 19 February 2026
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Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment projects worth SR8bn launched in Makkah

Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate Company has announced the launch of several real estate projects belonging to the Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment system in Makkah, with a total investment exceeding SR8 billion ($2.1 billion). These projects include commercial, residential, and hospitality developments, as well as strategic land plots, as part of the company’s commitment to supporting the Kingdom’s real estate sector and enhancing the quality of life in the holy city.

The announcement was made during a field tour by a delegation of high-level officials including Saleh Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites; Ihsan Bafakih, chairman of the board of directors of Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Holding Company; Haitham Al-Fayez, chairman of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate Company and CEO of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Holding Company; Moath Al-Mukhudub, managing director and CEO of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate Company; and Anas Mansour Abadi, CEO of real estate at Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Holding Company and representative of the Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Endowment, alongside members of the board of directors of both the holding and real estate companies and the executive team.

The tour included the launch of the Tilal Towers project, with an investment value of SR2 billion, featuring more than 2,500 hotel rooms, strengthening the hospitality sector in Makkah.

The delegation also visited the Tilal Village project, valued at SR2.8 billion. It is one of the prominent qualitative projects within the hospitality ecosystem in Makkah.

Furthermore, the visit covered the residential buildings within Tilal Village, comprising 828 units, with an investment of SR800 million. The delegation inspected the specialized hospital, medical complex housing, and the office and commercial plazas.

During the tour, a contract was signed for the Al-Rajhi Center project, valued at SR250 million, as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan.

The inspection also included the Al-Ukayshiyyah land, spanning 4 million square meters, and the Al-Ghazzawi project land, valued at SR250 million.

The tour concluded with prayers at the Aisha Al-Rajhi Mosque, the second-largest mosque in Makkah after the Grand Mosque, with a capacity for 50,000 worshippers.

This visit underscores the importance of these investments, which represent a clear direction toward enhancing the management of the endowment’s assets through diversification, redevelopment, and strategic expansion, in line with the development goals of the Makkah city and Saudi Vision 2030.

Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Real Estate, a subsidiary of Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Holding Company, continues to provide innovative solutions to elevate the real estate sector to international standards.