It is no longer a wonder that the Middle East holds the countries which lead in many construction records. Now Saudi Arabia is adding one more, which is the world’s largest entertainment city.
Planned to be 334 square kilometers in area, the one-of-its-kind entertainment city will be located in Al Qidiya, southwest of Riyadh. It will feature sports, cultural and recreational facilities, including a safari and a Six Flags theme park.
Its main investor is the Public Investment Fund, along with a number of other local and international stakeholders which supports the Kingdom’s position as an important international center in attracting foreign investments.
According to a statement by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the project will be launched in 2022 with its construction starting in 2018.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at night. Source: Wikimedia
The project hopes to make a qualitative leap in the Kingdom and support the country’s vision aimed at achieving more prosperity and progress for society and raising the Level of services in the capital Riyadh to become one of the top 100 cities for living in the world.
He said, “This city will become, by God’s will, a prominent cultural landmark and an important center for meeting the future generation’s recreational, cultural and social needs in the kingdom.”
It is part of Saudi’s Vision 2030 development plan. Being a part of that reform programme, bin Salman shared that this project acts as a contributing factor for the diversification of the kingdom’s economy away from oil-based sources of revenue while creating job opportunities for Saudi’s young population.
Six Flags, considered as one of the biggest theme park company in the world, began talks with the Saudi government last year to build theme parks as part of the Vision 2030 and its efforts to expand its entertainment sector and diversity Saudi’s economy.
Jim Reid-Anderson, Six Flags chief executive, later said that the company aimed to build three parks in Saudi Arabia, each costing between $300m and $500m.
Source: Al Arabiya
