Roshn seeks contractors for Riyadh World Cup stadium

November 6, 2024, 10:26 AM

Saudi Arabia fans wave flags before a World Cup qualifier in Jeddah. The country is sole bidder for the 2034 tournament

Plan to build 45,000-seater for 2034
Developer aims to ‘de-risk’ project
Local and global contractors sought

Saudi real estate developer Roshn is inviting expressions of interest from international and local contractors for its 45,000-seat football stadium in Riyadh.

Iain McBride, Roshn’s head of commercial, said the Public Investment Fund subsidiary was actively seeking partners “very early in the process” to help “de-risk” the project.

“What we don’t want is to design, wait and then tender,” he told AGBI.

“We want to draw on the experience of the big international contractors that have delivered stadiums recently in the Gulf and further afield, and partner them with big local contractors that have experience within the kingdom.

“We’re trying to take away the risk of a foreign contractor that perhaps doesn’t know the market, or labour or material requirements.”

The Roshn Stadium is still in the concept phase, but a preliminary design was submitted to Fifa as part of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid. The kingdom is set to be confirmed as host of the 2034 tournament next month.

Preliminary designs for the Roshn Stadium in Riyadh were submitted to Fifa as part of the World Cup bid — Preliminary designs for the Roshn Stadium formed part of the World Cup bid

The design “is in the Fifa bid book, so we’re waiting patiently and excitedly to see how it’s received by Fifa and the broader community”, McBride said.

He described it as “quite an ambitious design” that “mirrors the ambition of the country”.

The formal tender for the stadium construction is expected to be issued next year, he said.

Fahad Al Ghamdi, executive director for treasury and insurance at Roshn, said the company was aiming to expand its funding avenues.

It secured SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion) from three banks last year, followed by SAR9 billion from six banks this year.

“We are doing this in a general facility, not project-specific facilities,” Al Ghamdi said.

“We do have another plan down the road to move into capital markets.” This includes a planned credit rating.

World Cup watch

Saudi Arabia is planning to build 11 stadiums for the 2034 World Cup, including one located in Neom’s The Line.

The bid focuses on five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha and The Line. The authorities have not released a breakdown of the anticipated construction costs, but most of the stadiums are scheduled for completion by 2032.

Some, including the Qiddiya stadium, are part of larger giga-projects under the Vision 2030 strategy to transform Saudi Arabia.

The country is the sole bidder for 2034 and is expected to gain formal Fifa approval at a meeting on December 11.