Diriyah awards multibillion-riyal opera house deal
9 April 2025
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Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has awarded an estimated SR5bn ($1.3bn) construction deal to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House project in Diriyah.
The contract has been awarded to the joint venture of local firm El-Seif Engineering & Contracting, Beijing headquartered China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Qatari firm Midmac Contracting.
The opera house will be built by Diriyah Company and operated by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.
In March, MEED exclusively reported that Diriyah Company was preparing to award the contract, with the deal likely to be finalised by the end of March.
The project will cover an area of 46,000 square metres and include four venues: a 2,000-seater opera theatre, a 450-seater adaptable theatre, a 450-seater multipurpose theatre and a 450-seater rooftop amphitheatre.
The development also includes spaces for a services pavilion and retail facilities.
The scheme is part of the second phase of the Diriyah Gate project and is expected to be completed by 2028.
The developer launched the project during Diriyah Company’s Bashayer 2023 event.
In August last year, MEED exclusively reported that the architects had completed the design development work for the Royal Diriyah Opera House project.
Oslo-headquartered firm Snohetta leads the project's architectural design.
Other firms supporting the development of the project include UK-based firms Plan A Consultants, Arup, Buro Happold, Tricon, Spec Studio and Fractal Landscape; US-based JLL; Germany-headquartered Schlaich Bergermann Partner and Transsolar; UAE-based Penguin Cube and Evergreen Adcon; and Saudi Arabia's Syn Architects, Saudi Diyar and Maha Mullah.
Diriyah gigaproject
The Diriyah masterplan envisages the city as a cultural and lifestyle tourism destination. Located northwest of Riyadh’s city centre, it will cover 14 square kilometres and combine 300 years of history, culture and heritage with hospitality facilities.
The company awarded several significant contracts last year, including three contracts worth over SR21bn ($5.5bn). These included an estimated $2bn contract awarded to a joint venture of El-Seif Engineering & Contracting and China State to build the North Cultural District.
In late July, Diriyah also awarded a $2.1bn package to a joint venture of local contractor Albawani and Qatar’s Urbacon to construct assets in the Wadi Safar district of the gigaproject.
In December, MEED reported that Diriyah Company had awarded an estimated SR5.8bn ($1.5bn) contract to local firm Nesma & Partners for its Jabal Al-Qurain Avenue cultural district, located in the northern district of the Diriyah Gate project.
Once complete, Diriyah will have the capacity to house 100,000 residents and visitors.
GlobalData expects the Saudi construction industry to record an annual average growth rate of 5.2% in 2025-28, supported by investments in transport, electricity, housing and tourism infrastructure projects, as well as the $850bn-plus gigaprojects programme.
The infrastructure construction sector was expected to grow by 5.2% in 2024 before registering an average annual growth rate of 6% in 2025-28, supported by government investments in rail, dams and road infrastructure projects.
Hear directly from the gigaproject owners at the biggest construction event—The Saudi Giga Projects 2025 Summit, happening in Riyadh from 12-14 May 2025. Click here to know more
MEED’s April 2025 report on Saudi Arabia includes:
> GOVERNMENT: Riyadh takes the diplomatic initiative
> ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy forges onward
> BANKING: Saudi banks work to keep pace with credit expansion
> UPSTREAM: Saudi oil and gas spending to surpass 2024 level
> DOWNSTREAM: Aramco’s recalibrated chemical goals reflect realism
> POWER: Saudi power sector enters busiest year
> WATER: Saudi water contracts set another annual record
> CONSTRUCTION: Reprioritisation underpins Saudi construction
> TRANSPORT: Riyadh pushes ahead with infrastructure development
> DATABANK: Saudi Arabia’s growth trend heads up
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