Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya to award 10bn riyals of contracts for Riyadh mega project – The National

Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya to award 10bn riyals of contracts for Riyadh mega project – The National

Exclusive: The Public Investment Fund-backed company plans to raise money through a bond or sukuk issuance

















The Qiddiya project coming up in Riyadh is expected to boost tourism potential of Saudi Arabia. AP 







Saudi Arabia's Qiddiya Investment Company, backed by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, plans to award at least 10 billion riyals ($2.66bn/Dh9.79bn) worth of contracts to various companies this year to speed up the construction of a mega entertainment and sports project in the capital Riyadh.



"We've awarded well over 1bn riyals contracts so far and that figure is going to jump, may be 10 times to 10bn riyals, which will all be construction related contracts,“ Michael Reininger, its chief executive told The National.



The Qiddiya project includes a number of facilities for sports, arts and entertainment activities. It is being constructed on a 334 square-kilometre site close to Riyadh and part of the Saudi Vision 2030 programme that aims to diversify the economy away from oil.





"We just awarded one of the major road contracts and are receiving major contract bids for the entirety of our utility system," Mr Reininger said. "We have strings of things that