Arab News, Thursday, Aug 26, 2021 | Muharram 18, 1443
KSA ‘being reborn’ as Vision 2030 unleashes $1tn real estate and mega-projects
Saudi Arabia:
Almost $1 trillion of real
estate and infrastructure projects have been announced across Saudi Arabia since
2016 as the Kingdom’s economy is transformed under Vision 2030, analysis carried
out by global property consultant Knight Frank has revealed.
According to Faisal Durrani, Knight Frank’s head
of Middle East research, “Saudi Arabia is a country being reborn.”
Durrani said: “The ambition that underpins Vision
2030 is being borne out in reality and we are rapidly closing in on $1 trillion
of developments, all of which are colossal. And this is only about a third of
the total spend planned.”
He added: “The number and value of mega-projects
around the country are set to transform the country’s real estate landscape,
standard of living, lifestyle offering and, perhaps most importantly, showcase
the Kingdom’s vision for an ultra-modern future to a global audience.”
According to Knight Frank, almost $300 billion of
the total spend is dedicated to new infrastructure, including extensive
passenger rail networks and a new $ $147 billion airport for Riyadh, which is
expected to be the home base for a new national airline.
“The scale of infrastructure improvements in the
country is phenomenal,” Durrani said.
“The aggressive targets laid out by the government
to attract about 100 million annual visitors to the country by 2030 means both
adequate and first-class gateways need to be created. We are already seeing the
first of these trickling through, including the new cruise terminal at Jeddah
Islamic Port. These developments are not vanity projects but will have a
significant impact on economic growth.”
The cruise industry itself is set to create up to
50,000 jobs nationally, according to the Public Investment Fund and 1.5 million
cruise visitors are expected annually by 2028.
Knight Frank highlighted eight new cities that are
planned, mostly along the Red Sea coast, where almost $575 billion is being
spent to deliver over 1.3 million new homes and over 100,000 hotel rooms
NEOM alone will cost an estimated $500 billion and
is being positioned as a new vision for future cities. The new metropolis will
use cutting edge technology to create one of the most innovative and sustainable
places in the world.
Meanwhile, Riyadh is poised to become entrenched
as the Kingdom’s commercial hub, with more than 100,000 new homes expected by
the end of 2023 and close to 3 million square meters of office space in the
pipeline, along with over 12,000 hotel rooms, spread across mega-projects worth
an estimated $63 billion.
“Delivering these projects at such speed is
incredible, but clearly comes with its own challenges and opportunities.
Regulations that govern the sale and lease of all property asset classes need to
be carefully looked at if the Kingdom is to deliver a globally attractive
investment landscape,” Durrani said.