Top 10 investable projects: Diriyah, Saudi Arabia

Project overview

Located just outside Riyadh, Diriyah, known as The City of Earth, is the ancestral seat of the House of Al Saud and birthplace of the first Saudi state in 1727.  The project, inspired by traditional Najdi architecture, is one of Saudi Arabia’s five giga-projects under the national Public Investment Fund.

At the core of Diriyah is At-Turaif, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that holds significant historical importance as the founding site of the kingdom and a symbol of Saudi heritage.

The opportunity

There are opportunities in a range of asset classes, including infrastructure, medical, retail, residential, offices, mixed-use and cultural facilities.

Diriyah Company is looking for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure and other assets with models including build-operate-transfer, build-own-operate, build-operate-lease-transfer, design-build-operate-transfer and lease-develop-operate.

The company is keen to work with real estate developers, family offices, capital partners, and other financial institutions with the following investment models:

• Joint ventures that accommodate different investment profiles, ticket sizes and appetites;
• Sale/acquisition of land parcels to develop greenfield developments for mixed-use, residential, hospitality, office, education and healthcare assets.
• Land leases on flexible terms and time horizons for development of hospitality, retail and office space;
• Bulk land sales for largescale real estate developers;
• Sales/leaseback for office, retail and mixed use assets.

The financials

The total development budget is SAR236 billion ($63 billion).

Project sponsor

The Diriyah Company, established seven years ago, is reaching out to investors, developers and other potential partners from around the world and is especially keen to bring in capital from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Significance

Diriyah is central to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to diversify and transform its economy. With a $63.2 billion investment, it is projected to add $7.2 billion to the kingdom’s GDP, create 180,000 jobs and attract more 50 million visitors annually. The project is key to Saudi Arabia’s goal of increasing tourism’s contribution to GDP from 3% to 10% by the end of the decade.

The pitch 

The aim is to deliver a world-class development that will be true to Diriyah’s rich history and heritage while delivering innovative, culture-led placemaking of unprecedented ambition and scope that will shape lives for generations to come.

Diriyah Company is working to transform the historic area into a global centre for culture, heritage and tourism, and international partners can play a once-in-a-lifetime role in making this vision a reality.