Firms submit Qiddiya performing arts centre bids
28 May 2025
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Contractors have submitted bids for the contract to build the performing arts centre at Qiddiya Entertainment City.
MEED understands that the firms submitted the stage two bids on 22 May.
The gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) issued the tender in September last year.
The centre will have over 3,000 seats across three theatres. It will also include a cantilevered amphitheatre overlooking Qiddiya City’s lower plateau, with a 500-seat venue suspended from above.
MEED exclusively reported in January that firms had submitted the first-stage bids late last year.
In June 2024, MEED reported that QIC had appointed Dubai-based Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf and US-headquartered Tom Wiscombe Architecture as the project’s lead designers.
The Qiddiya City performing arts centre is one of several major projects within the greater Qiddiya development. Other projects include an e-games arena, the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a motorsports track, the Dragon Ball and Six Flags theme parks, and Aquarabia.
QIC has achieved key construction milestones on several schemes in the execution phase at the gigaproject. It plans to inaugurate the Six Flags theme park and Aquarabia water park by the end of this year.
According to local media reports, the construction works have reached advanced stages and the projects will be opened in 2025.
An update posted on QIC’s website stated that construction on the Six Flags theme park and Aquarabia water park had reached 89% and 84%, respectively.
In February, QIC officially appointed US-based Six Flags Entertainment Corporation as the operator for the Six Flags theme park and Aquarabia water park.
The project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom. According to GlobalData, leisure tourism in Saudi Arabia has experienced significant growth in recent years. Domestic leisure tourism trips have increased to 33.76 million in 2023 from 16.74 million in 2018. International tourist arrivals for recreational purposes have increased by 600% from 2018 to 2023.
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