meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Field report: Riyadh

5 May 2023

 

Register for the MEED.com guest programme 

Contracts worth over $2.7bn have been awarded in Riyadh Province so far this year. 

MEED field researchers visited Riyadh in mid-April to monitor the progress on construction projects including Diriyah Gate, King Salman International Park and Riyadh Sports Boulevard.

The team also called in on two of Saudi Entertainment Ventures' (Seven's) entertainment complexes and several National Housing Company housing schemes, among other projects.

DIRIYAH GATE

At the Diriyah Gate project, construction works are progressing on the digital arts centre Diriyah Art Futures and Heritage Five Star hotel in Samhan district.

MEED researchers were able to get visuals of Diriyah Gate's now-completed restaurant complex, Bujairi Terrace.


Opened in December 2022, Bujairi Terrace comprises 21 restaurants over a 15,000 square-metre area

Elsewhere, construction works have started on the Ministry of Culture's headquarters building at Diriyah, while the site preparatory works are under way at the Northern Cultural District P3 car park, where the ground-breaking ceremony took place recently.

Local/Chinese team begins underground main spine tunnel roundabout base slab works

Structural works are under way at Saudi Electricity Company's Diriyah 380/132/13.8kV substation and the super basement project, which WeBuild is delivering.


Diriyah Development Company's three-floor super basement car park will serve the mixed-use Diriyah Square district, which will include leisure and entertainment, hotels, retail, grade A offices, the King Salman Grand mosque and residential units designed in the traditional Najdi architectural style

KING SALMAN INTERNATIONAL PARK

Structural works are progressing well at the Royal Art Complex, the single biggest project in execution by value at King Salman International Park so far. Modern Building Leaders won the contract, worth $1.3bn, to build the project in 2022.


In addition to the Royal Art Complex, the 1,300-hectare masterplanned King Salman Park project includes a national theatre, museums, galleries, a golf course, and spaces for commercial, hospitality and residential components

Construction on the main tunnels and bridges project continues, with the bridge structure now in place. A joint venture (JV) of Consolidated Contractors Company and El-Seif Engineering Contracting Company is executing the project, which is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024.


King Salman Park was launched by King Salman in March 2019, alongside the Green Riyadh, Riyadh Art and Riyadh Sports Boulevard projects

RIYADH SPORTS BOULEVARD

The construction works are ongoing at almost all of the packages for Riyadh Sports Boulevard.

The projects currently in execution at the Riyadh Sports Boulevard include King Abdul-Aziz underpass package 8 and Abu Bakr underpass package 9, Zone 1A, Zone 1B, Zone 2A, Zone 5A, Zone 6: Package A, B, C, D, E and Cycling Bridge.


Riyadh Sports Boulevard – Package 5 Arts District. There are eight districts in total, with districts for entertainment, athletics and sports also planned

SEVEN ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEXES

The structural works are under way at Seven's Al-Hamra entertainment complex (Exit 10), for which Al-Futtaim Engineering has been appointed as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractor.

Exit 10 is at the most advanced stage of construction out of the 21 planned entertainment complexes in 14 cities across the kingdom.

Meanwhile, early works proceed apace at Seven's Al-Nahdah entertainment complex (Exit 15) project. Consolidated Contractors Company is delivering the project.


Seven is owned by the Public Investment Fund and was formed in December 2017 as part of Riyadh’s push to localise Saudi spending on entertainment under the mandate of Vision 2030

Elsewhere in Riyadh, the client is delivering the housing units for Roshn's Sedra District community homes phase 1A, package 1. Indian contractor Shapoorji Pallonji is carrying out the construction works, which are in the finishing stages.


Located northeast of the Saudi capital, Sedra will consist of over 2,100 residential units, along with public parks, entertainment areas, retail, coffee shops and restaurants, community centres, schools, sports facilities and health care facilities

National Housing Company (NHC) is well on track with building its housing schemes in Riyadh. The infrastructure works are currently under way at the Dahiyat al-Fursan phase 1 project in the north of Riyadh. The work is being carried out by Al-Omaier Trading & Contracting.

Likewise, construction works are at advanced stages at NHC’s Al-Mashraqiya housing complex as well as for several of the packages at the Murcia complex, most notably Narges View, Rabieh Housing, Saraya al-Gwan, Asalah al-Gwan, Rawa Housing and the Al-Muhannadiya complex.


National Housing Company's Al-Mashraqiya housing complex, where construction is at an advanced stage

The foundation works are in progress at Shomoul Holdings’ The Avenues Riyadh project. 

The project is one of the largest commercial malls in the Middle East and includes multiple districts such as Prestige, Grand Avenue, The Souk, The Mall, Electra, Oasis, Grand Plaza, The Forum and The Walk. Nesma & Partners won the project's main construction contract, worth $1.76bn, in 2021.

There is no construction activity at the Mall of Saudi project site. MEED exclusively reported this week that the Dubai-based developer Majid al-Futtaim (MAF) had put the plans for its estimated SR6bn ($1.6bn) project in Riyadh on hold.

By Yasir Iqbal, research manager MEED.com | MEED Projects | MEED Insight

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10817164/main.gif
MEED Editorial

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Dewa announces new record for power reliability

    30 April 2026

    Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has announced that it set a new world record for the lowest electricity customer minutes lost (CML), at 0.82 minutes a year in 2025.

    The figure is equivalent to about 49 seconds of annual outage per customer. It improves on the utility’s previous record of 0.94 minutes in 2024, a reduction of around 13%.

    Dewa said it has reduced CML in Dubai from 6.88 minutes a year in 2012 to 0.82 minutes in 2025, significantly lower than the average of about 15 minutes recorded by leading electricity utilities in the European Union.

    The smart grid is a central component of Dewa’s strategy to improve reliability and efficiency. The programme is being implemented with total investments of AED7bn up to 2035.

    One of the key initiatives of the programme is the Automatic Smart Grid Restoration System, which enables remote, round-the-clock control and monitoring.

    Dewa currently has tenders out for several power and water infrastructure projects in the emirate. These include at least four Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) water transmission pipeline projects.

    According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, Dewa awarded $1.1bn-worth of new power and water contracts in 2025. Contract awards had previously reached $2.6bn in 2024, and $4bn in 2024.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16623721/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Riyadh tenders PMC deal for major sports arena

    30 April 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Sports Boulevard Foundation has tendered a contract inviting firms to bid for project management consultancy (PMC) services for the Global Sports Tower in the Athletics District of the Sports Boulevard development in Riyadh.

    The tender was issued on 8 April, with a bid submission deadline of 10 May.

    The 130-metre-tall Global Sports Tower will cover an area of 84,000 square metres and will include more than 30 sports facilities. The tower will feature the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall at 98 metres and a 250-metre running track.

    Earlier this week, MEED reported that the Sports Boulevard Foundation is preparing to award the main construction contract for the Global Sports Tower. MEED understands that bid evaluation has reached an advanced stage and the contract is likely to be awarded by the end of May.

    MEED reported in May last year that design work on the tower had been completed. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud approved the designs in 2024.

    The Sports Boulevard development runs across Riyadh from east to west and, once complete, is set to be the world’s longest park spanning more than 135 kilometres.

    The development will be spread across several districts, including Wadi Hanifah, Arts, Urban Wadi, Entertainment, Athletics and Eco, as well as Sands Sports Park.

    The large-scale project aims to transform central Riyadh – currently dominated by major highways – into a recreational corridor.

    Sports Boulevard, which will feature 4.4 million sq m of public realm and landmark buildings, will also be home to the Centre for Cinematic Arts and a 2,000-seat amphitheatre.

    The development will provide more than 2.3 million sq m of mixed-use commercial, residential, and retail assets, along with sports facilities around the park, known as Linear Park.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16622287/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Contractors submit Saudi Arabia phosphate rail track bids

    30 April 2026

     

    Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) received bids from contractors on 27 April for a multibillion-riyal tender to double the tracks on the existing phosphate transport railway network connecting the Waad Al-Shamal mines to Ras Al-Khair in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

    The tender – covering the second section of the track-doubling works and spanning more than 150 kilometres (km) – was issued on 9 February.

    This follows SAR receiving bids on 1 February for the project’s first phase, which spans about 100km from the AZ1/Nariyah Yard to Ras Al-Khair.

    The scope includes track doubling, alignment modifications, new utility bridges, culvert widening and hydrological structures, as well as the conversion of the AZ1 siding into a mainline track. It also includes support for signalling and telecommunications systems.

    The tender notice was issued in late November.

    Switzerland-based engineering firm ARX is the project consultant.

    MEED understands that these two packages are the first of four that SAR is expected to tender for the phosphate railway line. Other packages anticipated to be tendered shortly include the depot and systems packages.

    In 2023, MEED reported that SAR was planning two projects to increase its freight capacity, including an estimated SR4.2bn ($1.1bn) project to install a second track along the North Train Freight Line and construct three new freight yards.

    Formerly known as the North-South Railway, the North Train is a 1,550km-long freight line running from the phosphate and bauxite mines in the far north of the kingdom to the Al-Baithah junction. There, it diverges into a line southward to Riyadh and a second line running east to downstream fertiliser production and alumina refining facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf coast.

    Adding a second track and the freight yards will significantly increase the network’s cargo-carrying capacity and facilitate increased industrial production. Project implementation is expected to take four years.

    State-owned SAR is also considering increasing the localisation of railway materials and equipment, including the construction of a cement sleeper manufacturing facility.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16622526/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Iraq sets up commission for $5bn pipeline project

    30 April 2026

    Iraq is setting up a high-level commission to oversee the development of the planned $5bn Basra-Haditha crude oil pipeline project.

    The decision was made at a meeting held on 26 April, attended by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and the Minister of Petroleum Hayyan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, as well as other officials and consultants.

    The commission will be chaired by the undersecretary of the Oil Ministry and include advisers to the prime minister, along with director-generals from the Oil Ministry and the Industry & Minerals Ministry.

    Al-Sudani said the pipeline project will increase flexibility in transporting crude oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, as well as the Syrian port of Baniyas and Jordan’s port of Aqaba.

    The pipeline is also expected to strengthen supply to refineries in central and northern Iraq and support higher domestic refining output.

    The meeting also approved allocating $1.5bn to the project this year, with funding provided through the Iraq-China oil-for-infrastructure mechanism, according to a statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry.

    Earlier this month, Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved amendments allowing the Oil Ministry to directly invite specialised companies to bid for the 685-kilometre pipeline.

    The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of up to 2.25 million barrels a day.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16621546/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Construction begins on Dubai Healthcare City projects

    30 April 2026

    Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) has begun construction on Pixel DHCC and Ibn Sina+, two flagship developments in Dubai Healthcare City.

    Local contractor International Foundation Group has been appointed to carry out the enabling works.

    The two projects form part of Phase 1 of DHCA’s AED1.3bn ($354m) development programme and are scheduled for completion in November 2027.

    Pixel DHCC, designed by Hong Kong-based P&T Architects and Engineers, is planned as Dubai Healthcare City’s first LEED Platinum-certified office building. The nine-storey commercial development will cover 13,000 sq m.

    Ibn Sina+, designed by Dubai’s Design and Architecture Bureau, will be a five-storey medical complex spanning 5,800 sq m.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16611156/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal