The National Center for Privatization & PPP (NCP) is a new Saudi Arabian agency created to empower the nation’s private sector. Along with Supervisory Committees (SCs) established to oversee each privatization sector, the NCP will manage the transfer of government assets to private ownership.

Formed in April 2017 by the Council of Ministers, the NCP and the SCs are the first of their kind in the Middle East and North Africa. Their main objectives are to make the national economy more efficient and competitive, improve quality of life for Saudi citizens, stimulate the private sector, create jobs, develop renewable energy capacity, and diversify the economy.

On August 1st, the KSA Council of Ministers announced the establishment of the SCs. These committees will act as facilitators for the many sectors slated for privatization over the next decade. The NCP, a permanent member of all SCs, will provide support and guidance to the committees as they work to enhance the Saudi economy through private sector participation.

Each committee will assess the technical, financial, legal, and regulatory aspects of privatization and establish best practices for the targeted entities. The Ministry of Finance, also a permanent member of each SC, will play a key role in the privatization process.

Sectors included in Vision 2030 under the Privatization Program are: environment, water, agriculture, transportation, energy, industry, mineral resources, labor and social development, housing, education, health, municipalities, telecommunications, IT, and Hajj and umrah.

The NCP will create regulations, privatization frameworks, and processes that ensure the efficient sale of Saudi assets. Establishing a world-class center of excellence to manage the sale of state assets and entities is the first step. According to NCP CEO Turki A. Al Hokail, “NCP has adopted a wide-ranging governance policy that will enable government agencies and hold each accountable as we move forward with stimulating private investment and privatization.”

“We will facilitate the smooth transfer of assets by publishing a blueprint that will deepen communication channels between government agencies, citizens and the private sector locally, regionally and internationally and serve to guide investors and participating agencies and entities through the privatisation process.

“NCP was established with the purpose of setting policies, strategies, programmes, bylaws, plans and tools to achieve the privatisation projects objectives, thus suggesting the sectors and activities that may be privatised. The centre will also set necessary standards and frameworks for sectors targeted for privatisation, set principles which help the management of privatisation-related projects, develop requirements to establish entities where the private sector – from inside and outside the kingdom – may participate with government entities in the launched privatisation projects.

“NCP will work with the sectors targeted for privatisation to ensure their technical and financial readiness. The Center will work to assess the readiness of the macro economy of the privatisation programs and contribute to managing related risks. It will work with its counterparts to identify key performance indicators related to privatisation. In addition, NCP will be contributing to the training and qualification of human capital in the field of privatisation to guarantee leveraging their abilities and expertise to achieve development objectives.

“Effective governance means integrating a continuous evolution of improvement to keep pace with the rising accountability and transparency expected of government. NCP will serve as an agile, performance-oriented public organisation that will boost performance and increase investment opportunity in the kingdom.”

The privatization process is anticipated to increase the private sector’s contribution to GDP from 40% to 65%.