Diriyah Company, the developer behind Saudi Arabia’s $63.2 billion Diriyah giga project, has announced plans for two multi-billion-dollar districts within the giga-project.

The Qurain Cultural District will include a diverse mix of arts, retail, office, and residential spaces. It will also include a cinema, museums, and academies focusing on writing, traditional Najdi architecture, Arab music, culinary arts, performing arts, and theatre.

The district will house the 195-room Ritz-Carlton Diriyah with 165 branded residences and the Address Diriyah, offering 204 rooms and 60 serviced apartments.

A 5.8-billion-Saudi-riyal ($1.55 billion) construction contract has been awarded to a joint venture (JV) between Nesma & Partners, UJSC, and MAN Enterprise Al-Saudia.

The Northern District will house the King Salman Foundation, museums, a university, a library, and a public square. It will also host the recently announced Capella Diriyah, a 100-room luxury hotel.

Construction on elements of the Northern District is already underway following the award of a SAR 7.8 billion contract to JV of China State Construction Engineering Corporation and El Seif Engineering Contracting Company.

Additionally, ground-breaking took place for 7 hotels, namely Raffles, Armani, Orient Express, Baccarat, Corinthia, Fauchon L’Hotel and Rosewood, collectively adding a total of 877 rooms. These hotels will be among the over 40 properties containing over 6,500 rooms being developed in Diriyah and Wadi Safar Masterplans

The Diriyah project, one of the five Saudi giga-projects backed by the Public Investment Fund, is expected to contribute $18.6 billion to the nation’s GDP.

(Reporting by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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