Five major tourism projects announced in Saudi Arabia this year

Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry has historically relied heavily on the pilgrimage sector, given that the Kingdom is the birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest sites. After oil prices crashed in mid-2014, however, the world’s top crude exporter has been looking at ways to boost revenue, and developing and diversifying its tourism offering is high on the agenda.

Accordingly, the Saudi government and the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have unveiled many major tourism and entertainment projects in recent months, designed to attract both international and domestic visitors. Earlier this month, the PIF also announced a SAR 10 billion investment arm to target the Saudi entertainment sector.

Argaam takes a look at some of the biggest projects announced so far in 2017.

1) New Jeddah Downtown

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a plan to redevelop the Jeddah Corniche into a mixed-use project, at an estimated cost of SAR 18 billion over ten years. Construction on the ‘New Jeddah Downtown’ development is expected to start in Q1 2019 and the first phase is scheduled for launch in Q4 2022.

Under the development plan, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund will turn the waterfront area into a tourist destination, featuring museums, shopping and commercial areas, parks, resorts, and beaches.

2) Red Sea Tourism Project

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched in August the Red Sea Project, a 30,000 square kilometer coastline tourism project that will develop 50 islands between the cities of Umluj and Al Wajh. The project will be built in cooperation with the world’s biggest hotel and hospitality companies to build the global attraction near one of the Kingdom’s heritage sites, Mada'in Saleh and Harrat Rahat, a dormant volcano.

The first phase is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2019, and will include the development of an airport and a marina, hotels and residential units, infrastructure, and transportation services. Expected to be completed by Q4 2022, the project is set to contribute SAR 15 billion ($4 billion) to GDP when it is fully functional.

Saudi Arabia announces The Red Sea Project, an exotic eco-resort across a lagoon of 50 virgin islands –groundbreaking,2019#TheRedSeaProject pic.twitter.com/Psc0F83Xu1

— مشروع البحر الأحمر (@TheRedSeaSA) August 1, 2017

3) Souq Okaz, Taif

The Souq Okaz project in Taif will be located on a 10 million square-meter site, with a total investment exceeding SAR 8 billion for all stages of the project – 11 percent of which will be invested by the government, while 89 percent will come from the private sector. The Saudi Commission of Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) seeks to turn Souq Okaz into a year-round tourism destination, featuring various cultural and entertainment facilities.

Souq Okaz is part of six projects in the wider New Taif City project, inaugurated this week by King Salman. The other developments include the New Taif Airport, a SAR 120 million industrial city, a SAR 2 billion university city, and a SAR 590 million residential suburb. The project will also feature the Oasis of Technology, a 35 million square-meter project to be designed by a consortium of international companies.

4) Sports and entertainment city, Riyadh

Earlier this year, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman launched a sports and entertainment city in Riyadh, in which PIF will be the largest investor. The city’s foundation stone will be laid in 2018 while the first stage is expected to be ready in 2020.

The 334-square-kilometre project is expected to include a Six Flags theme park, in addition to sports, cultural and recreational facilities, and a safari.

5) New developments near Holy Mosques

PIF announced plans this week for new projects at the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madina, designed to boost capacity and deliver new hotels and housing units. The wealth fund said it would set up two companies to take charge of the expansions.

The first company, called Al-Haram Al-Makki Visions, will work to boost the capacity of the Grand Mosque to accommodate more Hajj and Umrah visitors. The sovereign wealth fund is set to lay the cornerstone of the project in 2018 and commence operations in 2024.

The project’s first phase will develop a total area of 854,000 square meters and 115 buildings with an estimated hotel capacity of 310,000 guests per day. It will also provide 9,000 residential units with a commercial space of 360,000 square meters.

Meanwhile, the second company will expand the Prophet's Mosque area in Madinah, aiming to boost hotel capacity by 240,000 guests in 80,000 rooms daily. In addition, almost 500 residential units will be also provided. PIF aims to begin construction work in 2018 and start operations in 2023.

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com