Saudi Arabia is studying a proposal to employ 3D printing techniques in the construction of housing units through a collaboration with a Chinese company, a report said.

Last week a delegation from China's WinSun was in Riyadh to discuss construction using 3D printing technology, the report in www.3ders.org said.

If realised, this could become the biggest 3D printing endeavour in the world since Saudi Arabia is planning to build up to 1.5 million housing units over the next five years.

Shanghai-based WinSun is a pioneer in using 3D printing in construction. It hit headlines when it built 10 3D printed houses in less than 24 hours in 2014. Since then, Shanghai WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Company has been building on that achievement. In March this year, it unveiled two gorgeous 3D-printed Chinese courtyards.

The WinSun delegation to Saudi Arabia was led by chairman Ma Yihe and vice president Liu Wenmin. They were welcomed by Dr Bander B Al Abdulkarim and Nawaf M Al Dahmash, officials from the Saudi Department of Housing. Imad Al Abdul Qader, director of marketing, at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), was also present alongside other senior leaders from the domestic real estate industry.

According to the report, during their meeting, Yihe introduced the company's custom housing 3D printing technology to the Saudi officials, who praised its quality. The officials further said that they believed WinSun’s technology is perfectly aligned with Saudi Arabia’s national policy to greatly expand the number of available houses.

The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Housing and Sagia invited WinSun to set up a 3D printing factory for the construction sector in the kingdom, the report said.

The Ministry of Housing also proposed that WinSun’s 3D printing technology be used in the programme to build 1.5 million housing units over the next five years.