Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s widely anticipated entertainment project known as Qiddiya is reportedly on track to commence construction this year.
Construction works on the 334 square kilometre destination, executed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and a major work-in-progress as part of the Saudi Vision 2030, are underway with the mega development and will begin in 2019, Qiddiya’s top official told a local Saudi newspaper.
“Planning and design were completed in 2018 and will be implemented this year,” Qiddiya CEO Mike Reininger told Arab News.
“We will disclose more information on the construction timeline in due course,” the top official added.
Qiddiya, which will play a role in diversifying Saudi Arabia’s revenue resources away from oil, tweeted earlier this week that “2018 saw the successful groundbreaking of Qiddiya and 2019 will see the launch of #Qiddiya’s construction phase bringing us one step closer to materialising our dream of building Saudi’s first entertainment and sports city.”
In April 2018, Qiddiya’s groundbreaking ceremony was held under the sponsorship of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
According to media reports, Qiddiya, which is located around 40 km outside Riyadh, is more than double the size of Walt Disney World Orlando in Florida.
Investors expect this mega entertainment destination to be an “attractive entertainment proposition for domestic, regional, and international visitors,” according to Construction Week Online.
Speaking at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) in October, Qiddiya CEO Michael Reininger described the project as a major entertainment destination, noting that it was based on “what we call the five cornerstones, [namely] parks and attractions, motion and mobility, nature and environment, sports and wellness, and culture, arts and education."
In April, the PIF signed an agreement with US-based Six Flags to launch a theme park in Qiddiya in 2022.
Qiddiya will also feature hotels, and amusement and entertainment facilities, its developer the Qiddiya Investment Company said previously, indicating that all of these would be “regional firsts.”
Forecasts indicate that by 2030, Qiddiya will contribute around SAR 17 billion ($4.53 billion) to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provide as many as 57,000 jobs.
In November, Qiddiya announced the appointment of its 100th employee, stressing that it sought to attract “the best of the best local talent who are as driven as we are.”
