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By Theo Burman
Live News Reporter
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Saudi Arabia's investments in construction and infrastructure projects over the last eight years have totaled $1.3 trillion, according to new analysis.
As part of the country's attempt to diversify its economy away from oil exports, Saudi Arabia has launched several major construction projects across the country, with the ambitious Neom megaproject leading the way with a price tag of $500 billion.
More than a million residential units and mega-developments are in progress in the country, according to real estate consultancy group Knight Frank. This is an increase of 4 percent from 2023.
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been one of the main drivers of this growth, launching his plan to diversify the country's economy in 2016 with a $164 billion injection into real estate contracts.
The biggest project to come out of the plan is The Line, which is currently the largest construction site in the world. The 650-foot-wide "linear city" will stretch across 105 miles through mountains and desert valleys, with the ability to house some 9 million people by the time it's completed.
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About 2,800 staff already live and work at Neom, according to its website. So far, the project has been funded exclusively by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, known as PIF, that oversees $700 billion. Neom's official budget is $500 billion, more than half the PIF's holdings.
Earlier this year in August, Saudi Arabia also unveiled its 2034 FIFA World Cup stadium design, a structure suspended 1,150 feet above the ground within the city. Beyond some basic renderings, few details are available about the design of the Neom Stadium, and its architect has not been made public.
Riyadh will feature an additional eight new stadiums to support the event, including the planned 92,000-capacity King Salman International Stadium, which would host the opening and final matches.
$35 billion in contracts remain in the capital city of Riyadh, which expects to add 29,000 hotel rooms, 4.6 million square meters of office space and 340,000 homes by the start of the next decade, in line with the Crown Prince's ambitions of rebranding Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination.
The entire project, named Vision 2030, expects the country to be in a position to host 150 million tourists a year by the end of the decade.
Newsweek contacted Neom for an update on construction work for The Line and other projects.
Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about Saudi Arabia or construction in the Middle East? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
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