Themes of Qiddiya project are “very closely” aligned with Saudi Vision 2030: CEO

Saudi Arabia’s giga-project Qiddiya falls within the overall objectives and scheme of the Saudi Vision 2030, Qiddiya Investment Co. CEO Michael Reininger told Argaam in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative 2019 in Riyadh.

“The themes of Qiddiya are very closely aligned with Saudi Vision 2030,” he said.

Reininger added that Qiddiya will have the prospect to enrich people’s lives through different opportunities and services to be delivered.

“Tapping into those opportunities, we are going to create quality of life improvements, as well economic opportunities and professional pathways that maybe did not exist in these market segments just a few years ago,” he noted.

Reininger also said that the project will help empowering youth and creating new opportunities for females, adding that it will provide as well new opportunities to enhance health and wellbeing of citizens through a wide range of sports and wellness initiatives.

“We believe very strongly that the market here (Saudi Arabia) is in deep desire for access to and the enrichment that comes from engaging in entertainment and sports and arts,” he stressed, noting that it has been a little bit challenging to access these sectors in the past.

He further explained that billions of dollars leave the Kingdom every year looking for those sorts of services, which he said “is an indicator to how strong our market would be to provide these services to Saudis, and first and foremost to those living in Riyadh.”

On the rules and regulations recently introduced by the Saudi government and their role in boosting foreign investments, Qiddiya CEO said that every step that happened systematically opens up the marketplace for a broader scheme of investments.

He also highlighted that Qiddiya will be announcing a list of deals and agreements by year-end and in the upcoming months.

He concluded that the works in the first phase of the giga-project that kicked off earlier this year and are expected to be finalized in 2023, are making progress.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman inaugurated in April 2018 the Qiddiya Project which is set to be the kingdom's newest entertainment, sports and cultural destination. The first video of the project’s master plan and final maquette was released end of July 2019.

Qiddiya is a transformational project that will be built 40 kilometer from downtown Riyadh, with a total area of 334 square kilometer.