Prime Highlights
- China Harbor Engineering Company bags SR 5.75 billion contract to build Diriyah’s 20,000-seat multipurpose arena.
- It is a flagship of Vision 2030, for economic, cultural, and tourism development.
Key Facts
- Foreign artist concerts, global sports events, exhibitions, and esports will be staged in the complex.
- The Arena Block comprises three mixed-use towers with more than 4,000 parking facilities.
Key Background
Saudi Arabia signed a record SR 5.75 billion($ 1.53 billion) contract with China Harbor Engineering Company( CHEC) to make a 20,000- seatmulti- purpose Diriyah Arena on the outskirts of Riyadh. Diriyah masterplan’s crown jewel, as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 profitable diversification masterplan for tourism, entertainment, and culture.
The Diriyah Arena building itself would be 74,000 square meters large and would continue to be an operational concert hall, sports arena, live performance hall, esports arena, and exhibition hall. It is being developed by HKS Inc., an international company, and combining historic Najdi buildings with ornate modern buildings to produce a landmark that has heritage inside but is high-tech in design.
Arena Block complex will be made up of three mixed-use office towers by John McAslan + Partners that will take up 114,000 square meters of office space. The buildings will incorporate over 4,000 motor vehicle parking spaces for the extensive number of visitors and specialists to the arena and ancillary business offices. The construction, strategically placed at the northwest corner of Riyadh, is part of five giga-developments constructed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Diriyah Co. Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo has guaranteed that the arena construction will add SR 70 billion to Saudi GDP. The endeavor also generates approximately 178,000 job opportunities and can hold about 100,000 residents. Besides adding to Saudi Arabia’s cultural map, the arena places Saudi in the global map in the fields of arts, business, and entertainment.
This investment forms part of the Saudi national strategy of rebranding the country for international tourism as well as building high-end infrastructure along national identity.
