Giga-projects Saudi giga-project Diriyah Gate targets 2027 completion Diriyah Gate, one of the first Saudi giga-projects, said this week that it was on target for completion by late 2027. The opening of the project’s first hotel is now rescheduled for later this year. “We’re looking forward to the conclusion of our project, probably toward the end of 2027,” said Andrew Tonnor, Diriyah Gate’s […] April 25, 2024
Analysis Giga-projects Saudi Arabia strives to counter giga-project doubts As Saudi Arabia ramps up its global tour to attract more giga-project investment, doubts have begun to set in over costs and whether they will meet the imminent 2030 deadline. The kingdom’s officials put on a big show at an international real estate event in Cannes in March and this week Neom kicked off the […] April 18, 2024
Giga-projects Roshn awards $57m contract for Riyadh villa community The Saudi giga-project Roshn has signed a deal worth more than SAR215 million ($57 million) with Dar Al Arkan, a local developer, for a villa community in Riyadh. The two companies signed an agreement allowing Dar Al Arkan to acquire and develop residential villas in the first phase of Sedra. The 35 million sq m […] April 16, 2024
Giga-projects Neom increases workforce to get vision over the line The pace of construction on Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project Neom is to accelerate, with the workforce rising by almost half by next year. The number of people employed in construction will increase from more than 140,000 to more than 200,000 in 2025, the developer said in a statement, after reports of construction workers being […] April 15, 2024
Retail Diriyah Square planned for historic Riyadh district A public space featuring 400 retail outlets and 100 restaurants and cafes is planned for the historic Riyadh district of Diriyah. Diriyah Square will be announced next week at the World Retail Congress in Paris and aims to attract a combination of international retail brands and local artisans. Diriyah Gate Development Authority group CEO Jerry […] April 14, 2024
Construction Mena steel demand to rise over next two years Steel demand in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is expected to accelerate in 2024 and 2025 after a significant slowdown in the past two years, the World Steel Association (WSA) said in a report. Demand is forecast to rise by just over 4 percent and 2.6 percent year on year to 57 […] April 11, 2024
Construction Saudi cement prices under pressure as competition mounts Strong competition among Saudi Arabia’s cement companies is likely to continue and will exert pressure on prices in the short to medium term, according to a report from investment advisory company Ubhar Capital. There is ongoing optimism regarding the pipeline of mega and giga projects, as well as anticipated investments related to Expo 2030. However, […] April 10, 2024
Construction Saudi Arabia scales down plans for 170km Line by 2030 Less than half of the first phase of The Line, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city, is expected to be completed by 2030. Publicity materials available at a construction industry conference in Cannes in March showed that phase one would consist of modules 44 to 47 of the 170 km The Line, making the first phase about […] April 7, 2024
Giga-projects Roshn to build its first residential district in Mecca The Saudi giga-project Roshn is building its first residential community in Mecca, which will cater to middle income Saudis. The Almanar project will sit on the western outskirts of the city, with easy access to Jeddah airport. It will house 17,000 people in its first phase, Roshn said this week. The development will include three […] April 2, 2024
Giga-projects Neom and Jeddah offer appeal to expat buyers Many expatriates in Saudi Arabia are interested in buying property in Neom and Jeddah Central and willing to spend over $1 million, a real estate survey showed this week. “When asked about which giga-project they would most like to buy a home to live in, Neom emerges as the clear favourite, followed by Jeddah Central […] April 2, 2024
Tourism Red Sea airport prepares for first international visitors Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Airport will record its first international visitors this month when a flight from Dubai arrives on April 18. Red Sea Global, the developer behind regenerative tourism destinations The Red Sea and Amaala, said the flight, operated by Flydubai, marks the start of a new twice-weekly route. Regular domestic flights operated […] April 1, 2024
Video length: 06:07 VIDEO Giga-projects Saudi giga-project designs to merge tradition and futurism Saudi Arabia wants to ensure that the futurism of its giga-projects does not smother the diversity of its local architecture, according to the head of the government’s Architecture and Design Commission. One of the most striking features of the kingdom’s transformation plan launched in 2016 has been its design – from otherworldly resorts planned for […] March 27, 2024
Video length: 06:07 VIDEO Leisure & Hospitality Qiddiya to host Dragon Ball theme park Qiddiya, the Saudi Arabian entertainment city, plans to build a theme park based on the blockbuster Dragon Ball anime series. The Japanese franchise owner said on March 22 that the 500,000 square metre site would recreate locations from the original print and television cartoon series such as Kame House, Capsule Corporation and Beerus’s Planet, and […] March 22, 2024
Video length: 1:51 Giga-projects Three miles of the 100-mile Line city to be built by 2030 Only the first phase of Saudi Arabia’s futuristic 100-mile-long city The Line, covering three miles around a lagoon in the Gulf of Aqaba, will be completed by 2030, a senior official has revealed. The entire project, a horizontal city inside the Neom giga-project in the shape of a straight line 220 yards (200 metres) wide […] March 22, 2024
Giga-projects Neom unveils bridge resort with world’s longest infinity pool Saudi Arabia’s main giga-project, Neom, has announced another luxury tourism project, called Treyam, a 450-metre bridge over a lagoon in the Gulf of Aqaba featuring the world’s longest infinity pool and a hotel with glass floors. Publicity material released on March 21 shows the infinity pool along the length of a bridge over two sides […] March 21, 2024
Giga-projects Red Sea Global says first hotels are open Red Sea Global, one of Saudi Arabia’s main giga-projects, said this week it has opened two hotels. Ben Edwards, group head of cost, commercial and procurement, said in a conference call on March 20 that Six Senses and St. Regis hotels had opened at the Red Sea Global site south of the remote town of […] March 20, 2024
Giga-projects Work underway on cube at centre of New Murabba giga-project The company building New Murabba, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest giga-projects, said this week that construction was underway on the development’s centrepiece: a cubic structure being marketed as “large enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings”. The New Murabba Development Company, which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is charged with creating a […] March 20, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Liquidity strain set to push Saudi banks to seek more funds Saudi Arabian banks’ loan books are set to expand faster than their deposits again in 2024, raising costs and pushing lenders to seek additional funding sources. However, the kingdom’s banks are expected to increase their annual profits this year as government-led infrastructure projects and likely cuts to benchmark interest rates boost margins for its two […] March 20, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Giga-projects Trojena winter resort aims to be Neom’s inaugural site The Saudi winter resort of Trojena will be completed and ready to open in 2027 ahead of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, a spokesman said this week, making it the first project inside the futuristic city Neom to come online. Developers are under pressure to finish the giga-projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s economic […] March 18, 2024
Construction London architect HKS to design Diriyah’s 20,000-seat Arena Saudi Arabia has hired a London-based architecture practice to design a sports and entertainment venue in Riyadh’s historic district of Diriyah, close to the site where a landmark opera house will be built. “The architecture rises from the landscape as a series of monoliths, evoking local geological formations and alluding to ancient Nadji forts and […] March 13, 2024
Video length: 06:07 Analysis Giga-projects Big events take priority for stretched Saudi builders There will be delays in delivering Saudi Arabia’s massive construction pipeline in time for 2030, but projects directly linked to specific international events such as the Asian Winter Games in 2029 will take priority, industry players told AGBI at the Big5 conference in Riyadh last week. About $1 trillion in giga-projects are under way across […] March 7, 2024
Giga-projects Neom plans golf community on Gulf of Aqaba Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-city Neom has revealed plans for Gidori, a residential golf community on the coastal hills of the Gulf of Aqaba. Gidori will house luxury hospitality, premium residences and a range of sports and leisure amenities designed using the area’s natural landscape. The centrepiece will be a cantilevered beachfront complex. The tower […] March 7, 2024
