The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the National Program to Support the Management of Projects in Public Entities "Mashroat" signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) whereby "Mashroat" will provide top-class consultancy and technical support services to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of national infrastructure projects in line with the aspirations of Saudi Vision 2030. The MoU was signed by Justice Ministry's Undersecretary for Joint Services Abdulrahman Al-Khorayef and Secretary-General of the Board of Directors and Director General of Mashroat Ahmed Bin Motair Al-Balawi. Also present at the signing ceremony were Deputy Minister of Justice Sheikh Saad Bin Mohammed Al-Saif and Assistant Minister of Economy and Planning Khalid Bin Saud Al-Shunaifi. Commenting on the accord, Al-Khorayef stated, "The MoU supports MoJ's drive to ensure that all projects are managed and delivered on time and to the highest standards and specifications by bolstering partnerships with national sectors, agencies and programs. In addition, it affirms the MoJ's commitment to constructive collaboration to achieve the aspirations of the Kingdom and its vision." For his part, Al-Balawi remarked, "The signing is the latest of numerous accords ‘Mashroat' has signed with various government sectors to spearhead the transformation process. In doing so, we are empowering the project and facilities management offices in public agencies to develop a flexible environment to manage their projects and facilities more efficiently, which in turn increases the effectiveness and enhances the quality of our national infrastructure." The agreement will boost transparency as it allows for monitoring and assessing the performance of project and facilities management offices in the public sector, he said. "The resulting improvement in infrastructure will lead to better services to individuals and society as a whole in areas such as transport, housing, urban planning, natural and social environment, healthcare, economic and educational opportunities and security, thereby improving the overall quality of life in the Kingdom," Al-Balawi added. This cooperation comes in implementation of a royal decree pursuant to the Council of Ministers' resolution, which stated that public entities shall establish project management offices in cooperation with Mashroat to follow up, coordinate and manage their projects and ensure their delivery. This will be done according to the model provided by Mashroat and the procedures and methodologies it established in this regard. — SG
