Diriyah floats museum tender

8 May 2025

Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has tendered a contract to build the new iconic museum in the DG2 area of the Diriyah project in Riyadh.

MEED understands that the tender was issued in April, with the bid submission deadline in June.

Diriyah completed the prequalification process for the project in February this year.

Diriyah Company is expected to award more multibillion-dollar contracts this year. In April, MEED exclusively reported that the client had awarded an estimated SR4bn ($1.1bn) contract for a utilities relocation package for the King Salman University (KSU) project located in the second phase of the Diriyah Gate development (DG2).

The contract was awarded to the joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Railway Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction Group Central Plain Construction Company.

Last month, MEED also reported that the company had awarded an estimated SR5bn ($1.3bn) construction deal to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House.

The contract was awarded to a joint venture of local firm El-Seif Engineering & Contracting, Beijing-headquartered China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Qatari firm Midmac Contracting.

Tendering activity is also progressing on several other major schemes at Diriyah, including the King Khalid Road project, which passes through the development. The client received bids from firms in the second week of April for the main construction works on this project.

The client is also expected to finalise the contract award shortly for the Arena Block assets in the Boulevard Southwest section in the DG2 area.

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 accommodate 100,000 residents and visitors.


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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Yasir Iqbal
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