Start your business in Saudi Arabia

Business in Saudi Arabia The Saudi Arabia government openly welcomes investments

as part of its Vision 2030 plan,

so it facilitated the process of starting up a new business in Saudi Arabia, and here is a detailed explanation

of procedures and requirements for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to

start up and formally operate.

 

Dealing with Construction Permits Procedures:

1-Obtain a geotechnical study/soil test

BuildCo will request a soil test for the structural calculations for the foundation.

2-Obtain a topographical study of the land

3-Obtain surveyor’s report from Riyadh Municipality outlining the building standards

After the inspection, the Municipality issues a set of building standards

(in a “surveyor’s report”) that need to be adher ed to.

BuildCo must obtain a surveyor’s report from the Municipality before requesting the

building permit. The report outlines whether the intend ed project can be built in

a particular location. It also indicates the boundaries, leveling, and area of the land.

This report is need ed for the consultant to prepare the drawings.

4-Hire independent authorized engineer

To apply for the building permit, BuildCo must hire an independent authorized

engineering firm for the drawings and supervise the building permit application.

The new online platform allows the client to select the authorized engineering firm

from a drop-down menu, however, this is only to formally notify the Municipality.

BuildCo would still have to draft and sign a separate contract with the independent engineering firm.

5-Request and obtain a construction permit

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:

• A cover page
• Legal documentation from the owner of the land (in this case BuildCo), and the design engineer

(in this case, an employee of BuildCo)

• A copy of the applicant’s identity card
• Surveyor’s report from the branch municipality
• 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

number of construction drawings and number and the date of receipt

of payment, and the general location of all data outlined in the license

• Building plans drawn to a 50/1 scale with all the annexes
• Copy of the final plans

Incomplete files will not be accept ed for further processing. Once all

documents are submitt ed, the system will generate the permit fees,

which can also be paid online through the Sadad Payment System.

 

6-Request and obtain Civil Defense approval before installation

The building firm needs to submit fire and safety drawings as well as hydraulic

calculations to the Civil Defense to obtain their approval. The Civil Defense

confirms that the design is done in compliance with all the safety standards.

If everything complies with the existing standards, the department of Civil

Defense issues the approval. The application is submitt ed in person to present

all the original documents.

This procedure can be done in less time (7 days) if BuildCo hires an approved

Civil Defense consultant.

 

7-Request and receive an inspection at the beginning of construction

Once the building permit is obtain ed the engineering firm notifies the Municipality

of commencement of construction work, through the online portal Balady, and

receives the first site inspection. For small projects like the warehouse, the

supervision is done by the in-house engineer and the Municipality may conduct

a random inspection during construction.

However, for larger projects, the supervising engineer has to notify the

Municipality at each phase and receive the inspection before proceeding with the construction work.

 

8-Request and receive a certificate of completion from the Riyadh Municipality

The customer notifies the Branch Municipality electronically that construction

reached 80% of completion. Based on the supervising engineer’s report, the

certificate of completion is issued and delivered online. Once the certificate

of completion is issued, this information is automatically sent to Sewage,

Water, Power, and Civil Defense.

9-Request letter of approval from Civil Defense

BuildCo must visit the Civil Defense agency in person to request the letter

of approval. The Civil Defense must then visit the site to approve that the

warehouse is safe for commercial use.

 

10-Receive final inspection by Civil Defense

 

11-Obtain water and sewage connection

Once the completion certificate is issu ed, the Municipality will automatically

inform the National Water Company (NWC) to start the connection process.

However, it is still common for engineering firms to visit the NWC in person

and follow up on the process.

 

12-Obtain letter of approval from Civil Defense

If the completed building complies with all the fire safety regulations, the Civil

Defense issues a letter of approval.

13-Request and receive a final inspection to issue a certificate of occupancy

Municipality appoints an inspector who will check that all the setbacks are in order.

Inspectors also check the height of all floors and all the other standard building parameters.

Everything has to be built in accordance with previously submitted plans. Inspectors also

take multiple pictures of the constructed object for reporting and filing purposes.

The final inspection report can be obtain ed electronically through the Municipality’s website.

14-Obtain occupancy certificate

After the inspection is done and the report submitted, the occupancy certificate is issu ed online.

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