EXCLUSIVE Giga-projects Saudi’s Qiddiya to open first sites next year as plans grow Saudi Arabia’s mega sports and entertainment city Qiddiya is adding more hotel space and attractions to its masterplan to accommodate Riyadh’s projected population growth, a senior official said this week. Riyadh’s population is forecast to grow to 15 million by 2030. The city was chosen last year as the location for Expo 2030. Qiddiya, southwest […] January 23, 2024
Food & Drink $203m Neom catering contract goes to Alhokair A contract worth SAR760 million ($203 million) to provide catering services at the futuristic city Neom in northwest Saudi Arabia has been awarded to the Saudi hotel operator Abdulmohsen Alhokair Group for Tourism and Development. Alhokair, which runs 92 entertainment centres and 35 hotels in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, said in a statement on […] January 22, 2024
Giga-projects Red Sea crisis a threat to Saudi giga-project investment The Red Sea conflict between western powers and Houthi rebels in Yemen could put Saudi Arabia’s mammoth economic development projects at risk, the sovereign wealth fund advisory Global SWF said this week. The US and UK began airstrikes against targets in Houthi-controlled north Yemen on 12 January to stop them firing missiles at Red Sea […] January 18, 2024
Opinion People & Lifestyle The world is moving to Saudi Arabia The kingdom could supplant the UAE as the GCC destination of choice for both tourists and migrants January 16, 2024
Construction Private credit lenders expect surge in ‘last mile’ finance Private credit firms are preparing for a surge in demand for “last mile” financing from construction companies across the Middle East. This form of financing plays a critical role in the delivery of projects that are on the brink of completion but have been hit by budget overruns or unforeseen costs. William Watson, a partner […] January 15, 2024
Giga-projects Saudi Arabia plans stadium for holographic concerts Saudi Arabia has announced plans to build a new stadium featuring holographic technology that will be able to stage virtual interactions with celebrities and artists. The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium will be built in Qiddiya City, located 40 minutes from Riyadh and part of the kingdom’s new entertainment city, the state-run Saudi Press Agency […] January 15, 2024
Giga-projects Saudi developer Roshn prioritises local sourcing Saudi developer Roshn says it is increasing its local sourcing of building materials to manage global supply chain problems. “We’re working on a target at the moment of trying to locally source around 60 percent of our construction activities within the kingdom,” CEO David Grover told Al Arabiya TV on January 14. “For us it’s […] January 15, 2024
Economy Larger deficits unlikely to trouble Saudi debt access Saudi Arabia faces several years of budget deficits as it pushes ahead with massive development projects. Construction is fuelling the regional economy despite a slide in oil prices, raising questions about the kingdom’s continued access to debt markets. Saudi Arabia launched its Vision 2030 plan in 2016 to diversify the economy away from oil, but […] January 15, 2024
Giga-projects Neom launches ‘futuristic’ project on Aqaba coast Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom giga-project has launched Aquellum, a “futuristic” mixed-use development on the Gulf of Aqaba coast. The project will be concealed from the outside along the coastline, hidden within a 450-metre-high mountain range. Visitors will access Aquellum through “the world’s first floating marina” in a specially designed vessel, entering through a concealed […] January 11, 2024
Sustainability Gulf’s recycling industry grows with mega-projects The volume of Gulf construction projects will increase the use of recycled materials, the head of the Bureau of Middle East Recycling has told AGBI. Ibrahim Aboura, who is also managing director of Aboura Metals in Dubai and a committee chairman of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), added that it will also raise the […] January 8, 2024
Banking and Finance Giga-projects squeeze liquidity for Saudi banks Banks in Saudi Arabia are being pushed to finance the kingdom’s colossal Vision 2030 projects, triggering a liquidity squeeze in the mid-market sector and creating demand for private credit, a senior executive at Rothschild & Co told a conference in Abu Dhabi Private credit refers to non-bank lending, where investors provide debt financing directly to […] January 3, 2024
Construction The Avenues – Khobar to be built by Kuwait developer Kuwaiti developer Shomoul Holding this week launched a retail and residential project in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar worth SAR7.2 billion ($1.92 billion), securing a SAR4.35 billion loan for the first stage of construction. The government’s Tourism Development Fund, set up in 2020, provided the loan along with a consortium led by National Arab […] December 22, 2023
Opinion Giga-projects Saudi budget reveals realism now guides the way The price of oil remains fundamental to the government’s financial health December 20, 2023
Economy Saudi mortgage lending rises despite GDP slowdown Saudi banks’ mortgage lending to individuals and businesses rose in the third quarter, up 13 percent on 2022, despite a slowdown caused by lower oil prices and oil output cuts. A bulletin released this week by the central bank reported loans of SAR591.7 billion ($158 billion) to individuals and SAR155.5 billion to companies in Q3. […] December 18, 2023
Video length: 05:22 Construction Norwegian architects to help bring opera to Saudi masses Norwegian architects Snøhetta have unveiled the design for an opera house to be built in Riyadh by 2028 as part of Saudi Arabia’s drive to make a once forbidding capital city a global cultural destination. Video representations of the Royal Diriyah Opera House were shown last week at a ceremony in the historical Diriyah district […] December 18, 2023
Giga-projects Diriyah giga-project promises Beverly Hills in Riyadh Saudi Arabia plans to make its Diriyah heritage district the “Beverly Hills of Riyadh” by 2028 in time for the World Expo 2030 to be held in the city, the giga-project’s CEO said this week. Jerry Inzerillo, head of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, said these plans include the construction of a 1.9km road like […] December 18, 2023
Giga-projects Qiddiya to host first gaming district in Saudi Arabia The Qiddiya giga-project, near Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, will host the first multi-use gaming and esports district in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is striving to become a global gaming and sports centre by 2030. The upcoming gaming and esports district, which is claimed to be the first in the world, is part of the launch […] December 15, 2023
Tourism Golf course emerges from the desert at Diriyah giga-project Saudi Arabia is developing a luxury golf and equestrian resort outside Riyadh as part of the Diriyah giga-project, with three major hotel brands announcing this week that they were taking part. Aman, Oberoi and Six Senses are the first hotels to start construction in the mountainous rocky land on the edge of the desert west […] December 14, 2023
Construction How Saudi tech is addressing the lack of construction sand A patented technology developed in Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase the use of desert sand in concrete manufacturing. ClimateCrete’s technology modifies the surface of the fine local sand particles, making a much more durable and stable concrete. At a time of unprecedented levels of construction in the kingdom, it plans to make concrete production […] December 14, 2023
Analysis Construction Locals bemused by Jeddah’s planned transformation Amid a vast area of empty land in north Jeddah’s Obhur district, a lone unfinished tower stands out on the horizon with motionless yellow cranes around its edges – a stalled sign of the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s second city. Now work on the tower – possibly the tallest in the world upon completion – […] December 11, 2023
Analysis Giga-projects Big 5 builders seek answers to Saudi’s $1.5trn question Saudi Arabia’s mammoth pipeline of giga-projects was the focus of the Big 5 Global conference in Dubai this week, as the region’s main construction players discussed how to juggle fast-approaching 2030 deadlines with the kingdom’s push for sustainable development. Saudi Arabia has signed off on $78 billion of construction projects so far this year, up […] December 7, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT Construction Qatar and Saudi Arabia poles apart on construction growth Qatar and Saudi Arabia may share an 87km border, but the performances of their construction markets are poles apart. While activity in Saudi Arabia reaches record levels, buoyed by work on giga-projects such as Neom and Diriyah, work in Qatar has dried up after the completion of contracts signed before the 2022 Fifa World Cup. […] December 5, 2023
