Dealing with Construction Permits in
Saudi Arabia
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
SAR 500,000
- City: Riyadh
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain Immediate Permit from Riyadh Municipality one-stop shop and pay fees
BuildCo submits the application file with all the supporting documentation through the online portal located on the Riyadh Municipality website (http://eservices.alriyadh.gov.sa). Documents include:
o A cover page
o Legal documentation from the owner of the land (in this case BuildCo), and the design engineer (in this case, an employee of BuildCo)
o A copy of the applicant’s identity card
o An original land survey from the branch municipality or a specialized engineering office
o Draft of the building permit, which has been prepared in advance by BuildCo and contains full information including the instrument number, street name, the name of the neighborhood, rebounds and components of construction and the amount of construction drawings and number and the date of receipt of payment, and the general location of all data set forth in the license.
o Building plans drawn to a 50/1 scale with all the annexes
o Two copies of the final plans on A3 paper for Municipal record and a CD containing the complete project information
Incomplete files will not be accepted for further processing. Once all documents are submitted, the system will generate the permit fees, which can also be paid online through the Sadad Payment System. After this, BuildCo's engineer must be physically present to submit hard copies of all the plans and sign a sworn affidavit of responsibility before picking up the temporary permit.
Agency: Riyadh Municipality
|
1 day
|
SAR 1,040
|
| 2 |
Submit registration form and documents to Unifed Center for Real Estate Project Services
In March 2010, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) opened a Unified Center for Real Estate Project Services. The Unified Center houses 2 representatives from the National Water Company and the Saudi Telecom Company. There is also a dedicated liaison from the Saudi Electricity Company. Builders possessing an Immediate Permit can submit all their papers and documents at the Unified Center, where they are assigned a representative to obtain the final building permit, certificate of completion, letter of approval from Civil Defense and make the requests for utility connections. The Unified Center provides these services free of charge. There are currently four Unified Center representatives who can obtain approvals and submit documents on behalf of companies.
Agency: Unified Center for Real Estate Project Services
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 3 |
Unified Center representative requests inspection and obtains a final building permit from Branch Municipality
The Unified Center Representative assigned to BuildCo notifies the Branch Municipality that construction has begun and the sight is ready for inspection. Once the site has been inspected, the Municipality will proceed with processing the final building permit. The application file with the clearance from the Inspection Department is forwarded to the representative from Civil Defense who know sits in the Municipality. There are several representatives from Civil Defense but the one who has the authority to sign off on the building permit is only present 3 times a week. Once Civil Defense has approved the plans, the file is forwarded to the Licensing Department who issues the final permit.
Applicants can track the status of their application at any point in the process online. The online tracking system will not tell the applicant which office has the application, only whether it is in process, approved, or ready for pick up.
Agency: Branch Municipality
|
7 days
|
no charge
|
| 4 |
Unified Center representative requests final inspection and obtains certificate of completion from the Branch Municipality on behalf of BuildCo
The Unified Center Representative assigned to BuildCo notifies the Branch Municipality that construction has been completed and the sight is ready for inspection.Upon completion, the branch municipality inspects the site to ensure that all work has been performed as stated in the building permit. The branch municipality issues a letter to different utility departments for the connection to electricity, water, sewerage, and telephone.
Agency: Branch Municipality
|
2 days
|
no charge
|
| 5 |
Unified Center representative requests final inspection and obtains letter of approval from Civil Defense on behalf of BuildCo
The Unified Center representative assigned to BuildCo requests the inspection directly from the Civil Defense department. It takes about 1–2 weeks to receive the final fire inspection from Civil Defense. If the completed building complies with all the fire safety regulations. the Civil Defense issues a letter of approval.
Agency: Civil Defense
|
12 days
|
no charge
|
| * 6 |
Receive joint water and sewage inspection from the National Water Company
As of March 2010, inspections for water and sewage connections are performed by a joint team.
Agency: National Water Company
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 7 |
Obtain sewage connection
Agency: National Water Company
|
40 days
|
SAR 8,250
|
| * 8 |
Obtain water connection
Agency: National Water Company
|
30 days
|
SAR 2,800
|
| * 9 |
Obtain phone connection
BuildCo must contact the telephone company and submit the letter of completion, as for the electrical connection. In addition, BuildCo must submit a copy of the valid commercial license and the application form (signed by an authorized signatory certified and stamped by SAGIA). The installation fees are SAR 300.
Agency: Alhatif, Saudi Telecom Company
|
60 days
|
SAR 300
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.