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
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
Analysis Construction Foreign expertise vital for Saudi construction Saudi Arabia’s construction industry needs more foreign involvement if achieving its Vision 2030 goals is to become a reality, according to attendees of the Big 5 conference in Riyadh. In the first half of 2023 alone $44 billion worth of new projects were awarded in the kingdom’s $140 billion construction sector, according to real estate […] February 29, 2024
Tourism Saudi Arabia hits tourism target seven years early More than 106 million tourists visited Saudi Arabia last year, surpassing the kingdom’s 2030 target and prompting it to set a new goal of welcoming 150 million annual visitors by the end of the decade, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Achieving the milestone target of the Vision 2030 economic roadmap seven years early cements […] February 28, 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
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
Agriculture RedSea to dig further into Egypt’s agricultural market RedSea, an agtech business based in Saudi Arabia, is prioritising Egypt to transform the North African nation’s agricultural industry. The company has also announced the appointment of Bruno De Oliveira as vice president of Egypt and East Africa as a result of increasing customer demand for its products. RedSea has already installed heat-blocking roofing materials […] November 30, 2023
Finance Kingdom Holding ups stake in Citigroup with Alwaleed deal Kingdom Holding Company has increased its investment in Citigroup after buying a $450 million stake from its Saudi Arabian billionaire chairman, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The deal has raised Kingdom’s stake to 2.2 percent from 1.63 percent, according to a filing on the Saudi Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The company did not disclose any further […] November 29, 2023
Opinion Sustainability Saudi Arabia can make the case for change at Cop28 The kingdom is making steps to protect its young population November 21, 2023
Giga-projects Saudi construction contracts balloon since 2015 Saudi Arabia has signed off on $78 billion of construction projects so far this year, up 42 percent from $54.5 billion in 2015, just before the announcement of the Vision 2030 project. The statistics, provided by the Saudi Contractors Authority (Scavo), show the total value of ongoing projects as of the end of October at […] November 7, 2023
Tourism Red Sea Global reveals own luxury resort brand The Saudi developer Red Sea Global (RSG) will open Shebara, its own luxury resort brand, next summer at the Red Sea tourism project. The resort, on Sheybarah Island in the Al Wajh Lagoon, will house 73 keys, including overwater and beach villas. Guests can get to the resort after a 45-minute boat ride, or 20 […] November 7, 2023
Analysis Aviation Saudi aviation reforms to attract foreign airport operators Saudi Arabia has unveiled reforms and new regulations to encourage more foreign investment in its aviation sector, as part of a privatisation push. The new economic policy framework aims to create a “level playing field” for global operators and investors in the kingdom, according to the president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca). […] October 31, 2023
Analysis Giga-projects Saudi construction under pressure to deliver on its promise The Saudi construction sector is growing as the state showers money on giga-projects while oil prices are high, but the industry is under increasing government pressure to deliver, industry players say. A market that was previously dominated by favoured government contractors such as Binladin Group and the now defunct Saudi Oger has been liberalised. This […] October 30, 2023
Tourism Envi Lodges to launch third round of fundraising Envi Lodges, the tented camps and eco-pods specialist, is preparing a third round of fundraising as it seeks to expand regionally and internationally. The UAE ecolodge brand and management company, founded in 2021, has already completed two funding rounds, raising $2 million from investors in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France and the UK. Envi Lodges […] October 25, 2023
Video length: 07:23 FII Banking & Finance World Bank to Wall Street, FII attracts financial elite Slickly choreographed dancers clad in futuristic outfits and a teenage boy in a shiny tuxedo singing a power ballad set the stage for the seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, and all at nine o’clock in the morning. However, there were immediately more serious themes at play at the event, which opened on Tuesday. […] October 25, 2023
FII Tourism Red Sea Global links up with Kingdom for $530m resort Red Sea Global and Kingdom Holding Company have agreed a SAR2 billion ($530 million) joint venture to develop and own a Four Seasons resort at the Red Sea giga-project. The luxury development, scheduled to open in early 2025, will be built on Shura Island, the main hub of the 22-island giga-project. The Four Seasons resort […] October 24, 2023
Giga-projects Warning over climate impact of Saudi giga-projects Saudi Arabia’s vast giga-projects could have a damaging impact on the environment if they are not managed properly, a report from a Saudi university has found. “While diversifying the economy, giga-projects will increase the number of people living or visiting coastal areas, placing an additional burden via waste generation and disposal, water desalination and energy […] October 23, 2023
Construction Gulf contractor ALEC’s five-year plan to double business ALEC Engineering and Contracting, the company behind some of the Gulf’s biggest projects, is looking to double its business in the next five years, with Saudi Arabia making up a core part of its plans. Developments already under their management include the UAE’s first casino and Saudi Arabia’s entertainment city. Barry Lewis, ALEC’s recently appointed […] October 18, 2023
Finance PIF’s sukuk may test investor appetite for Middle East Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is planning to issue its first dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, but the move could be a test of investor appetite as regional tensions rise over the conflict in Gaza. Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank have been nominated as global joint co-ordinators to organise a series of investor calls […] October 17, 2023
Transport Red Sea Global installs Saudi Arabia’s largest EV charging network Saudi developer Red Sea Global has installed what it says is the kingdom’s largest off-grid electric vehicle charging network. The network includes more than 150 charging stations spread across phase one of the Red Sea project. The stations are strategically located to keep Red Sea Global’s initial fleet of 80 electric Lucid and Mercedes vehicles […] October 17, 2023
Aviation Huge expansion planned for Saudi’s Abha airport Abha International Airport in the south-west of Saudi Arabia is to expand to more than six times its current size. The plans, revealed this week by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will see the terminal area of the airport increased to 65,000 square metres. It includes the construction of passenger boarding bridges, self-service facilities and […] October 13, 2023
Tourism Saudi Arabia among biggest gainers in tourism rebound The Middle East is the best-performing global tourism region as the world undergoes a tourism rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic, and Saudi Arabia the second best-performing country, according to the UN’s tourism body. The United Nations World Tourism Organization said tourism in terms of traveller numbers had rebounded globally to 84 percent of levels before […] October 4, 2023
