Field report: Riyadh

5 May 2023

 

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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 9Zone 1AZone 1BZone 2AZone 5AZone 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

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    Umm Shaif gas cap project

    Adnoc Offshore operates the Umm Shaif hydrocarbons development, which is located 150 kilometres (km) northwest of the city of Abu Dhabi. The field is located within Abu Dhabi’s offshore Umm Shaif and Nasr hydrocarbons concession, previously operated by former Adnoc Group companies Adma-Opco and Zadco.

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    Gas is produced from the Umm Shaif Khuff and Uweinat reservoirs, as well as from the Arab C and Arab D Early Production Scheme 2. The Umm Shaif Khuff reservoir is a formation that consists of dry gas volumetric reservoirs located in the Umm Shaif field.

    Khuff reservoirs have been in production in Abu Dhabi since August 1989. Umm Shaif Khuff gas is currently produced from 28 active wells within the Umm Shaif field. A majority of these wells supply gas to Adnoc Group subsidiaries Adnoc LNG and Adnoc Gas Processing, with the rest supporting oil reservoirs at the Umm Shaif field through gas injection.

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    Offshore contract awards

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    CRPO 156 comprises the third package in Aramco’s latest expansion phase at Safaniya – the world’s largest offshore oil field, with a production capacity of nearly 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). Discovered in 1951, the field is located in Gulf waters approximately 265km north of Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

    MEED also reported that Saipem was selected by Aramco for two more tenders as part of the Safaniya field development expansion phase – CRPOs 154 and 155. The combined contract value for CRPOs 154 and 155 is estimated at $600m, sources said.

    In April, state-owned China Offshore Oil Engineering Company won CRPO 161, which covers the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan offshore fields.

    Healthy contract award pipeline

    Looking ahead, in addition to CRPOs 167-171, which are currently under bidding, Aramco is evaluating bids submitted by its offshore LTA contractors in July and August last year for at least two additional tenders.

    These are CRPOs 163 and 164, relating to the EPCI of infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.

    Separately, the offshore LTA contractors are also bidding for a new tender – CRPO 176 – that was issued by Aramco in May, according to sources.

    The scope of work on CRPO 176 covers the EPCI of seven flexible subsea pipelines with a combined length of 17km at the Berri and Marjan offshore field developments.

    Aramco’s LTA pool of offshore service providers comprises the following entities:

    • Saipem (Italy)
    • McDermott International (US)
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH, India) / Subsea7 (UK)
    • NMDC Energy (UAE)
    • Lamprell (UAE/Saudi Arabia)
    • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
    • Dynamic Industries (US)
    • Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
    • TechnipFMC (France) / MMHE (Malaysia)
    • Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

    In April 2025, Aramco renewed its LTAs with the following contractors, whose contracts had either lapsed or were close to expiry:

    • Saipem
    • McDermott International
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon / Subsea7
    • NMDC Energy
    • Lamprell
    • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company
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