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Diriyah CEO sets the record straight

17 February 2025

 

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There can be few busier people in Saudi construction right now than Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company, the developer behind the $63.2bn Diriyah gigaproject.

A charismatic New Yorker with the distinctive accent to match, he has been the most visible persona behind what is arguably one of the most impressive and advanced projects of the kingdom’s $1tn capital expenditure drive. 

Centred around the At-Turaif Unesco World Heritage Site on the western outskirts of Riyadh, Diriyah has opened its first assets to the public, most notably the retail-focused Bujairi Terrace and its first hotel, the Luxury Collection Bab Samhan Hotel.

These are already proving popular; even on a weekday lunchtime, the former was packed with Saudis enjoying a meal or simply walking between the rows of upscale boutiques enveloped in Diriyah’s characteristic Najdi architectural style. 

At night, Bujairi Terrace is so busy that advanced tickets are required just to enter the precinct to avoid overcrowding.


Opened in December 2022, Diriyah's Bujairi Terrace offers an array of restaurants and cafes

Asset manager role

Managing this is a new challenge for Diriyah Company as it transitions from a developer primarily focused on infrastructure delivery to one that is now also operating as an asset manager for its completed elements. 

“Think about it: right now in the day, we have 40,000 construction workers on site, but last night, we had 13,000 people visiting At-Turaif,” Inzerillo said in early January.

“We’re trading; we’re open; we’re earning revenues from Bab Samhan, the first of 40 hotels to open. It’s already trading very, very well – it’s going to be a very popular hotel.

“I’ve been here 6.5 years now and I’m more optimistic than I’ve ever been.”

Visitors are not just there to shop and eat. Diriyah’s protocol department now has more than 20 staff to handle between nine and 15 protocol moments a day.

“Heads of state, cabinet members and prominent CEOs come every day to see His Royal Highness [Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman]. They view the masterplans, see it being built and then have a meal before going to the Unesco site,” says Inzerillo.

I’m seeing robust interest and activity now, not just kicking the tyres as we say in New York. I’m seeing people really coming up to us now. We have dozens of deals right now. We’re very far down the road in terms of equity
Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company 

Concrete proof of delivery

The Diriyah CEO spoke with MEED at the opening of two new $200m substations built by Saudi Electricity Company to serve the gigaproject specifically. His presence at the event was a reminder of how keen Diriyah Company is to tell the world – and potential investors – about the development’s progress.

It is no secret that the gigaprojects programme has failed to attract the amount of local or foreign sector investment that it may have initially expected. Opinions vary, but it is fair to say a lack of clarity on project scopes, timeframes and visions, combined with the Covid pandemic and missteps in the initial communication strategy on what the gigaprojects stood for, have all been stumbling blocks in drawing in private investment.

However, this is changing as the gigaprojects themselves start to be delivered and more concrete proof of their demand potential is made clear.

Not that Inzerillo has any doubts about their ultimate investment potential and successful delivery. When asked about these issues, his response was clear: “Look I think there are two factors [behind these issues] and I don’t see them as unhealthy. In fact, it’s the opposite – I see them as healthy,” he asserts.

“Our [Saudi Arabia’s] intention was to take tourism from 3% of GDP to 10% by 2030, while our target was to attract 100 million visits by the same date. We achieved this by December 2023. We’ve already broken 5% of GDP and we feel very confident that we’ll make the 10% objective.

“We’re now putting the infrastructure in the new 58 million square-metre King Salman International airport and other transport infrastructure around the country. All the gigaprojects are opening hotels; for example, look at the great work being done along the Red Sea coast; the great work being done now on Qiddiya.

“So, I think what happened was a lot of people said, ‘Ok, we believe in Saudi Arabia. We certainly believe in its vision. But you know what? We’re going to wait a year or two till we see evidence that the projects are progressing as projected. We intend to be in the kingdom a long time, so let’s wait a year or two before committing.’”

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Optimistic outlook

Inzerillo highlights Covid’s impact on the investment environment, adding that it delayed investment plans by two years, but appetite has now caught up.

“I’m seeing robust interest and activity now, not just kicking the tyres as we say in New York,” he states. “I’m seeing people really coming up to us now. We have dozens of deals right now. We’re very far down the road in terms of equity.

“I’m feeling very, very optimistic. I mean, you would think the CEO would naturally be optimistic, but I’m seeing a lot of evidence now.”

This bullishness is underpinned by three huge contracts awarded last year, totalling more than $5.6bn to build the North Cultural and Qurain Avenue districts, forming core components of the Diriyah Gate (DG) 1 phase of the gigaproject, as well as hotel and leisure assets on its residential and hospitality-focused Wadi Safar district.

The pace of activity is continuing into 2025 with a number of major contracts under tender or bid evaluation on the DG2 second phase, including three interchanges on King Khalid Road, the King Salman Grand Mosque, Royal Diriyah Opera House, infrastructure development works, the Northern Community and Diriyah Arena assets. 

Just as significant was the award in early January of a $114m contract covering architectural construction and design services for DG2’s Boulevard District. One of the centrepieces of this second phase, the boulevard will be almost two kilometres long and will be lined on both sides by luxury boutiques and restaurants. Construction work on the boulevard should start in 2026.


One of the largest palaces in Diriyah, Salwa Palace extends over an area of 10,000 square metres

On time, on budget

Maintaining this pace of procurement is important given some of the – often negative – headlines following the ‘pause’ in gigaproject spending in the first half of 2024 as the government and the gigaproject companies’ owner, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), assessed their priorities and expenditure allocations in the face of soaring costs and timelines that threatened to be missed.

While much of this attention has been on Neom, particularly its The Line component, other gigaprojects such as The Red Sea, Roshn and Qiddiya threaten to be put into the same basket, an argument Inzerillo is keen to set straight.

“Now, one has to deal with real economic facts, and that is that post-Covid, you had major supply chain issues, which caused this hyperinflation. We’ve taken that into consideration and made adjustments. We’re on time, we’re on budget,” he stresses. 

“We’ve been very fortunate because of our track record. We have a rockstar team. None of our funding has been even touched in the slightest by the PIF.”

Diriyah has had success in mitigating soaring materials and contracting costs primarily by bundling different works packages into the three ‘mega’ contracts awarded in 2024 as a means of consolidating work to just a handful of contractors. 

At the same time, it secured long-term supply agreements from local manufacturers for key materials such as windows, doors and concrete. Scope revisions, such as the incorporation of the originally planned DG3 residential district into the DG1 element, have also contributed to putting a lid on cost pressures. 

“We always said we had five gigaprojects,” explains Inzerillo. “We had the DG1 historical district. We had DG2, which is 500 tech companies, 100 media companies and 50 entertainment companies. And then there was talk about DG3. When we revisited DG3, it really was just an extension of DG1. So now what we’ve done is [merged] what was called DG3 into DG1. In other words, we merged two phases into one family, but the investment remains the same.”

Reprioritisation of resources

As for last year’s re-evaluation of the gigaprojects’ priorities and delays to the programme overall, Inzerillo attributes these to unforeseen events.

“Now, here’s the other point about the reprioritisation,” he says, referring to last year’s slowdown in gigaproject activity. “Three years ago, no one had any definitive evidence that Saudi Arabia would win the 2027 Asian football games. Three years ago, no one knew that we would be able to win the Winter Asian Games. Three years ago, no one knew we would win the 2030 World Expo in Riyadh. And three years ago, no one predicted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would win the 2034 World Cup.

“So, what would need to happen to do those four global events? The answer is, of course, it requires a reprioritisation of resources because now there’s a giant emphasis on delivering these events, especially in Riyadh …. It’s a natural recalibration to host these global events to diversify the economy and certainly hyper stimulate tourism.”


The PIF is expected to provide another SR12bn this year for further development at the gigaproject

Investor interest

Inzerillo, who started his varied, five-decade career in the kitchens of a Brooklyn catering company and then onto senior hotel management positions in the US and South Africa before heading up both IMG Artists and the Forbes Travel Guide, is equally forthright about Diriyah’s investment potential and the success it has had to date, even if much of it has yet to be formally announced. 

“We have a very big interest from investors now,” he says. “I’m seeing my investment division getting really busy, which is very encouraging. I think that when we get to this time next year, we’re going to see a big repetition of what I call replacement equity.

“On some of the commercial assets right now, we’re getting great interest from foreign equity. We’ve had several cases now where foreign partners, such as Saudi, GCC and international partners, have seen the project out of the ground. They can really see it right in front of them. 

“We have a major development with a retail developer from Italy and one from Colombia on buying hotels and going into residential sales with us as joint-venture partners. Funding has been front-loaded from the PIF, which is why it’s important to be a gigaproject within the PIF family. What’s also important is that it allows us to keep up the pace and, more importantly, maintain our quality.” 

To date, the PIF has funded all of the infrastructure works on the gigaproject and is expected to provide another SR12bn this year for further development. 

But at some point, Diriyah Company and the other PIF project subsidiaries are expected to obtain financing, particularly once they start earning revenues. Neom and Red Sea Global have already successfully raised funds through a combination of bond issuances and corporate loan agreements, and Diriyah itself is likely to go down the same route.

Likewise, it is expected to eventually go public when the time is right.

“When will that happen,” says Inzerillo. “That will obviously depend on PIF’s input, which is very important, but we’ve already started the process of getting ready for an initial public offering at some point. I’d be very happy to see that happen before 2030 as I think it would be a great accomplishment. And I’m optimistic to that effect.”

With its first assets up and running and a record value of contracts awarded in 2024, Diriyah is developing at a rapid pace and its CEO is clearly confident it will have most of its core components ready by the launch of the World Expo 2030. 

Much still needs to be done, however. Line 2 of the Riyadh metro will be extended into the development, where it will interchange with the planned Line 7, linking the new King Salman International airport with Qiddiya via Diriyah. The Q Express, a planned express train linking the airport with the entertainment gigaproject, will also stop at Diriyah. All three projects will be handled by other clients and, therefore, somewhat out of Diriyah Company’s direct control. 

Likewise, it remains unclear what the full impact of Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup will be on the project ecosystem in the capital. Combined with the giant New Murabba development and ongoing works on the King Salman Park and Sports Boulevard megaprojects, the market is not likely to settle any time soon. 

And despite all the positive talk, there are still very few concrete announced investments in the gigaprojects. Yet, with its first areas already opened and other key elements well under way, Diriyah is arguably better placed than most to capitalise on this unprecedented investment opportunity.

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Edward James

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    Kuwait is also continuing to invest in existing generation plants. MEWRE is evaluating bids for the $1.7bn upgrade of the Subiya power and water plant, including the conversion of units from open-cycle to combined-cycle operation and the modernisation of existing facilities.

    Battery energy storage systems

    In the near to medium term, more than $10bn-worth of power projects are under bid evaluation. This includes several battery energy storage system projects with a planned total storage capacity of 1.5GW.

    In June, Kuwait approved sites in Al-Mutlaa and Jaber Al-Ahmad cities for the development of the projects. The projects will be implemented in phases, with the first phase providing 500MW of storage capacity. The first facilities are expected to be operational by summer 2027 and will supply stored energy to the electricity grid during periods of peak demand.

    Elsewhere, MEWRE continues to evaluate offers from Shanghai Electric Group and local firm Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) for the estimated $400m engineering, procurement and construction contract to rehabilitate and modernise eight boilers at the Subiya power generation and water distillation station. The bid bond validity has been extended to 23 August, indicating that the procurement process remains ongoing.

    MEED’s September 2026 report on Kuwait also includes:

    > ECONOMY: Kuwait shows tentative signs of economic development
    > BANKING: Necessity is the mother of invention for Kuwaiti lenders
    > OIL & GAS: Regional war to have lasting impact on Kuwaiti oil sector
    > CONSTRUCTION: Kuwait construction holds up despite regional strife

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    Mark Dowdall
  • Syrian court gives death penalty to Bashar Al-Assad

    11 August 2026

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    A Syrian court has sentenced former president Bashar Al-Assad to death after trying him in absentia, convicting him of crimes committed during the country’s nearly 14 years of civil war.

    It is the first such ruling under Syria’s transitional authorities, who ousted Al-Assad in December 2024 and vowed justice and accountability for crimes committed under his rule.

    Al-Assad fled to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus after a lightning offensive.

    In a Damascus court, Judge Fakhr Al-Din Al-Aryan convicted Al-Assad of crimes including “premeditated murder, the intentional killing of more than one person, the intentional killing of children under 15 years … torture, torture leading to death, and deprivation of liberty on multiple occasions” — acts the court classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    “He is therefore sentenced to death,” the judge said in his ruling.

    The court also sentenced six former military and security officials to death in absentia, including Al-Assad’s brother Maher, who ran the army’s elite Fourth Division and also fled the country.

    Those convicted included former defence minister Fahd Al-Freij and Louay Al-Ali, who headed military intelligence in Daraa province in 2011.

    ALSO READ: Syria charts post-war reconstruction course

    The officials were convicted of crimes including murder, incitement to murder, torture leading to death and repeated deprivation of liberty, also classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    Former security official Atif Najib – the only defendant tried in person – was also sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed while he headed political security in Daraa province, the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising.

    Najib, a cousin of Al-Assad who was arrested in January last year, was convicted of crimes including murder, the intentional killing of children under 15 and torture leading to death.

    The acts attributed to him are “crimes against humanity”, the court said as it handed down “the harshest punishment … which is the death penalty”.

    ALSO READ: US lifts sanctions on Syria after the EU takes similar action

    Syria began proceedings in April against Al-Assad and other officials, accused both in person and in absentia of atrocities during the civil war, which erupted after the former authorities’ brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters.

    More than half a million people were killed and millions displaced, while tens of thousands disappeared, many into the country’s brutal prison system.

    The uprising began in Daraa in March 2011 after 15 students were arrested for allegedly writing anti-government slogans on the city’s walls.

    Residents said the students were tortured, prompting protests demanding their release that ended in bloodshed.

    Security forces suppressed demonstrations and fired live ammunition to disperse sit-ins at several locations.

    Najib was dismissed after the crackdown as protests spread to other provinces.

    Judge Al-Aryan said Najib had denied the charges and shown “no remorse”.

    Al-Assad took power in Syria in 2000 in an unopposed election following the death of his father, Hafez Al-Assad, who was president from 1971.

    ALSO READ: Syria exports first crude oil batch in 14 years

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    MEED Editorial