Apr 28, 2018
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the Qiddiya Project which is set to be the kingdom’s newest entertainment, sports and cultural destination.
Time: April 24, 2018
RIYADH: Saudi King Salman will launch the construction of an “entertainment city” near Riyadh Saturday, authorities said, part of a series of multi-billion dollar projects as the Kingdom seeks to diversity its oil-reliant economy.
The 334-square kilometer project in Qiddiya, southwest of Riyadh, would rival Walt Disney and include high-end theme parks, motor sport facilities and a safari park, officials say.
The facility highlights a “relentless effort to develop giga-projects that will help achieve many direct and indirect economic returns,” project official Fahd bin Abdullah Tounsi was quoted as saying in a government statement on Monday.
Qiddiya chief executive Michael Reininger said he expects the project will draw foreign investors in entertainment and other sectors, but did not specify the total cost of construction.
Such projects are the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a self-styled liberal change agent who is the chief architect of the sweeping “Vision 2030” reform program.
Saudi Arabia has dazzled investors with several plans for hi-tech “giga projects,” funded in part by its sovereign wealth fund, but some skeptics question their viability in an era of cheap oil.
The Kingdom has unveiled blueprints to build NEOM, a mega project billed as a regional Silicon Valley, in addition to the Red Sea project, a reef-fringed resort destination — both worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Analysts say the projects could create funding pressures at a time when the government faces a yawning budget deficit and growth in the Kingdom’s non-oil economy is only slowly gathering pace.
The reform stems partly from an economic motive to boost domestic spending on entertainment as the Kingdom has been reeling from an oil slump since 2014.
Saudis currently splurge billions of dollars annually to see films and visit amusement parks in neighboring tourist hubs like Dubai and Bahrain.
In February, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) announced it will stage more than 5,000 festivals and concerts in 2018, double the number of last year, and pump $64 billion in the sector in the coming decade.
23 April 2018
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will patronize on Wednesday the much-anticipated Qiddiya Project which is the new entertainment, sports and cultural destination being built in the kingdom.
SOURCE: Arab News
April 14, 2018
Back in the early 1990s, when I was residing in London, I got an invitation to the opening of Euro Disney outside Paris. When I got there, I was overwhelmed by the amount of entertainment and the exciting activities. I said to myself: “One day I hope to see this taking place in Saudi Arabia.” Now this dream will become a reality.
The 334-square-kilometer Qiddiya project is strategically located about 40 kilometers from the center of Riyadh, making it about an hour’s drive from King Khalid International Airport. It will be a world-class entertainment city incorporating theme parks, motorsport and other thrilling activities.
The project aims to turn Qiddiya into the Kingdom’s iconic entertainment destination. It will help in boosting the country’s economic diversification through attracting foreign investments and directing the Kingdom’s entertainment spending inside the country. In addition, the project will contribute to the creation of new jobs in the Saudi labor market.
Moreover, the project will include a real estate component, serving as vacation houses to attract residents to the area, including approximately 4,000 residential units to be completed by 2025, increasing to about 11,000 by 2030.
Since Qiddiya is located near the capital, I believe it will be the ideal place for companies and organizations to carry out their off-site business meetings, conferences, retreats, and workshops.
With the plan choosing Al-Qiddiya as a base to launch Richard Branson’s commercial Virgin Galactic flights to space, Al-Qiddiya not only will be a local and regional entertainment center, but a destination for international tourists.
Basil M.K. Al-Ghalayini
The giga-project is expected to be completed over the course of five phases. It is currently in phase three, with the foundation stone expected to be laid by the end of June, while it is hoped the doors will open by October 2022.
Many Saudis visit neighboring countries for vacations and public holidays, but the Kingdom wants to capture up to a quarter of the $20 billion currently spent overseas every year by Saudis seeking entertainment.
The Public Investment Fund will play a key role in securing the necessary financing for the initial phases of the project. The PIF can leverage its portfolio companies to access a large number of potential investors and operators. Events such as the BMG Economic Forum will also aim to promote the project globally in order to reach international investors.
Last year, US amusement park company Six Flags’ Chief Executive Jim Reid-Anderson said the firm aimed to build three parks in Saudi Arabia, with each costing between $300 million and $500 million. An agreement between Six Flags and the PIF was officially signed last week to develop and design a new park within the Qiddiya project.
Also, because of the geography of the area, I hope the General Sports Authority will include a polo field in the development. This would go along with the creation of a Saudi Polo Federation, meaning I will have my dream to host a Polo Cup in Saudi Arabia.
With the plan choosing Al-Qiddiya as a base to launch Richard Branson’s commercial Virgin Galactic flights to space, Al-Qiddiya not only will be a local and regional entertainment center, but a destination for international tourists.
• Basil M.K. Al-Ghalayini is the Chairman and CEO of BMG Financial Group.
