The following words and phrases wherever they appear in this Regulation shall have the meanings indicated opposite each of them unless the context requires otherwise.

• Ministry: Ministry of Municipal and Housing Affairs.

• Minister: Minister of Municipal and Housing Affairs.

• Law: Law of Municipalities and Rural Areas.

• Regulation: Excavation Licenses Regulation.

• Municipality: The Secretariat or the Municipality as the case may be.

• Balady Platform: A unified electronic platform that provides municipal services at the Kingdom level.

• Coordination: The process of organizing excavation site works through the "Nassiq" service between the license applicant entity and the relevant authorities in order to avoid any damages, obstacles, or duplication that may result from the excavation process, and it is a fundamental condition for issuing excavation licenses.

• Project Coordination Office: The office responsible within the Secretariat/Municipality for issuing, coordinating, and approving excavation licenses with the relevant authorities.

• Nassiq Service: A unified electronic service provided through the Balady Platform to perform many services related to excavation works such as coordinating excavation works and issuing, extending, and canceling excavation work licenses for the license applicant entities.

• Relevant Authorities: The authorities coordinated with through the Nassiq service for issuing excavation licenses.

• License Applicant Entity: The entity submitting the excavation work license application and responsible for submitting the coordination request with the relevant authorities as necessary.

• Contractor: The executor of the excavation works on the ground, who is accredited according to the Ministry’s laws and regulations and is linked to the license applicant entity.

• Accredited Consulting Office: An office accredited by the Ministry to practice the profession related to supervision and consultations and has experience in the stages of executing excavation works.

• Updated Road Section Guide: An approved guide published on the Ministry’s website, clarifying the routes, sectors, intersections, and excavation depths for excavation works for the license applicant entities.

• Excavation Licenses: A regulatory document issued by the Project Coordination Office that includes approval to practice excavation works at a specified excavation site according to the organized conditions and requirements.

• Emergency Excavation Licenses: Approvals for preliminary notices to start emergency excavation works, issued via the platform by the license applicant entity during the submission period specified as 24 hours.

• Excavation Works: A set of works aimed at extending, renewing, or maintaining service extensions for electricity, water, communications, sewage, or other services performed in one or more adjacent routes.

• Road Works: Works related to roads and streets for the purposes of implementation, construction, paving, rehabilitation, asphalting, or sidewalks of roads and streets.

• Storm Drainage Network Works and Main Service Transmission Lines: Works involving excavation of roads and streets for the purpose of extending the storm drainage network or main lines transporting desalinated water, sewage water, or high-voltage electricity lines.

• Building Connections: Any connection requested for a building constructed for residential, commercial, industrial use, warehouse, or other purposes.

• New Plans: Plans for which municipal licenses are issued according to municipal standards and conditions.

• Maintained Streets: Streets that have cracks, vascular holes, or excavations that have been improperly closed causing subsidence in the street.

• Regular Open Excavation: Excavation used for extending cables and pipes with large diameters under the ground surface.

• Precise Open Excavation: Excavation used for extending cables and pipes with small diameters under the ground surface, with trench width ranging between 10-20 cm.

• Highly Precise Open Excavation: Excavation used for extending cables and pipes with small diameters under the ground surface, with trench width ranging between 2-8 cm.

• Trenchless Excavation: Trenchless excavation technology widely used under main streets and public intersections to extend and establish infrastructure services.

• Horizontal Drilling: Creating a horizontal hole underground to extend services without damaging the street surface.

• Excavation Completion Certificate: A document indicating the completion of excavation works issued after verifying the quality of execution.

• Clearance Certificate: A document indicating the end of the warranty on the excavation after the expiry of the period (two years).

• Quality Laboratory: The independent entity that conducts the required tests and examinations contracted by the license applicant entities owning the facility, provided it is accredited by the Secretariat/Municipality.

• Traffic Plan: An organizational plan for alternative routes during the excavation works period in the work area.

• Public Services Requesting Excavation Works: Refers to education, health, administration services, and all services established above ground even if they are a facility.

• Public Facility: Means networks (roads - electricity - water - communications - sewage - stormwater drainage - gas) - ... and any new network in addition to all types of roads.

• Public Utility Works: All works that include excavation works and road works.

• Fees: The fees prescribed according to Municipal Services Fees Regulation.

• Fines: The penalties stipulated in Regulation of Penalties for Municipal Violations and related matters.

The provisions and conditions of this Regulation apply to the coordination of public utility services for issuing excavation licenses within the urban area of the city under the supervision of the municipality through the "Coordinate" service for all works related to excavation, in coordination with the relevant authorities.

Exempted from this is the Riyadh area, for which the Council of Ministers Resolution No. (902) dated 30 Dhul-Hijjah 1444 AH was issued, approving the establishment of an Infrastructure Projects Center in the Riyadh area in accordance with its accompanying organizational arrangements.

First: Types of Excavation Works

• . General excavation works.

• . Road works.

• . Stormwater drainage network works and main service transfer lines.

• . Horizontal excavation.

Second: Types of Excavation Licenses

• (Regular – Emergency – Multiple – Building Connections – New Plans).

Third: Types of Excavation

• A- Regular Open Excavation:

  • 1- Open excavation

  • 2- Precise/Open excavation

  • 3- Vertical excavation and wells.

• B- Closed Excavation (Horizontal Boring):

  • 1- Directional horizontal boring.

  • 2- Narrow horizontal boring.

  • 3- Excavation using pipe jacking technique.

The Project Coordination Office issues excavation licenses according to the following:

• . Submission of the claim by the entity requesting the license.

• . Obligation to ensure the quality of the excavation by the entity requesting the license.

• . Approval of the relevant authorities for the license.

• . Compliance with the technical requirements issued by the Ministry, including adherence to the specified durations as outlined in the issued licenses, compliance with the designated length of the route specified in the license, and adherence to the arrangements made between the entity requesting the license and the relevant authorities.

• . Supervision must be conducted by the accredited consulting office of the entity requesting the license.

• . Municipal fines, if any, must be paid within a period not exceeding 60 days.

• . Compliance with the updated road segment guide is required.

• . A traffic plan (approved by the traffic departments) must be submitted in case of street closure or change in traffic flow.

• . The duration of licenses for road works must not exceed 150 days for highways and 300 days for main, secondary, and local streets, and the municipality may extend the license duration not exceeding the project implementation period.

• . The duration of licenses for public excavation works must not exceed thirty days for highways and sixty days for other roads and main, secondary, and local streets, and all types of roads in the central area of the cities of Mecca and Medina shall be treated as highways.

The entity requesting the License shall submit the applications for excavation licenses through the "Nasq" service via the Baladi platform, provided that the application is accepted electronically within 48 hours. The project coordination office may, upon the Trustee's approval, extend the period by an additional 24 hours, not exceeding 72 working hours for each License.

The streets shall be maintained as follows:

• . Relevant authorities must be notified of the street maintenance plan, and the entity requesting the license shall be given a specified period to complete all excavation work.  

• . The streets must be scraped and paved from curb to curb for all streets and roads, and they shall be paved according to the priority and importance of the street or road based on the approved classifications agreed upon by the municipalities.