Diriyah Company has awarded a 5.1 billion Saudi riyals ($1.36 billion) construction contract for the Royal Diriyah Opera House and surrounding assets in the Diriyah mega project.

The award was bagged by a consortium comprising El Seif Engineering Contracting, Midmac Construction and China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the Public Investment Fund-owned developer said.

The main auditorium of the Royal Diriyah Opera House, designed by Norwegian architectsSnøhetta, will have a seating capacity of 2,000 and will be managed by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

The opera house will include a 450-seat studio theater, a shaded rooftop amphitheater with 450 seats and multipurpose halls, increasing total seating capacity to 3,100.

The contract also covers constructing a 5-star hotel and a mixed-use residential complex.

No timeline for the construction was disclosed. Diriyah will provide homes for 100,000 residents, attract 50 million annual visitors and contribute $18.6 billion directly to Saudi Arabia’s GDP.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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